Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?
by SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Summary: [*FIN*] In the city of Tokyo, a mix of orphans, runaways & mysteries come together by fate. Many of them have pasts they cannot remember or escape from. And through gangs, drugs, love, mysteries & memories, these 7 people come to find who they are inside.
1. Prologue

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 1: Prologue  
  
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"C'mon, Sakura!" Touya yelled up the stairs.  
  
"What?" Sakura skipped down the landing, looking sweet in her pigtails and pink dress.  
  
"We're going with dad to work today, remember? It's 'Take your children to work day'," Touya patiently explained while he adjusted the pink bows on Sakura's hair.  
  
"Boy, that's a long name," Sakura said, and looked up and smiled at Touya.  
  
Touya chuckled and patted her head.  
  
"Don't do that! I'm not that short anymore!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, yes you are. You're only 9! You think you're not short compared to me, eh, monster?" Touya teased.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Sakura pouted.  
  
"Don't say shut up to me! I'm seven years older than you!" Touya said.  
  
"Touya! Sakura!" Fujitaka's voice rang out through the empty hall.  
  
"Come on. Let's go," Touya picked up Sakura and easily swung her over his shoulder.  
  
Sakura squealed and giggled all the way to the waiting car outside.  
  
Fujitaka's normally cheerful face was clouded up in worry today.  
  
Touya securely strapped Sakura in the back seat, and took his place in the front passenger seat.  
  
They started off, with Sakura distracted, singing along to the radio, an song called, 'Pretty Baby' (by Vanessa Carlton)  
  
"You light me up and then I fall for you.   
You lay me down and then I call for you.   
Stumbling on reasons that are far and few   
I let it all come down and then sung for you.   
  
Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming 'round.   
Oh pretty baby."  
  
"Dad, is anything wrong? You look…worried," Touya asked.  
  
"No, sweetie. Everything's fine. But one favor. I'm doing a special task today for the university, and its sort of dangerous. You need to stay in the car with Sakura, okay? And stay low. If you see anyone, hide," Fujitaka warned.  
  
"Um…okay. Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do for you?" Touya asked.  
  
"No. You're only 16. You have a whole life ahead of you," Fujitaka said, and focused on the road.  
  
Touya's brow creased at his father's words, but he brushed them aside.  
  
Their mother's birthday was coming up soon, and neither of them forgot it.  
  
Sakura and Touya soon dozed off from the long car ride to the city of Tokyo, the music still playing in the background.  
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"No! Don't do this---" the man's words were suddenly cut off as a twelve inch knife was cleanly inserted in his stomach.  
  
"Too short. Not painful enough," a man sitting in a large executive chair observed, dangling his cigar from his fingers.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir," five men bowed.  
  
"Leave," the man ordered.   
  
The five muscular men exited the large carpeted room.  
  
The man stood up and lazily walked around, watching the man in agony, quickly dying of blood loss that was surely staining the carpet.  
  
"Tsk, tsk. The Li clan leader, dying on his knees, begging for his life in front of me? Tsukiro Akatchi? Nobody would believe," the man said.  
  
The man on the floor grunted and managed to pull out the knife from his stomach.  
  
He hurled it at the standing man, who caught it with one hand.  
  
"Dare to try and strike me, did you? You're going to suffer much pain, Li. Nobody, I repeat, nobody betrays the Akatchi circle. And you, my heir to the throne. Did it pain you much to hide this from your family? Your young son and four daughters? Your wife? Your family?' Tsukiro Akatchi asked.  
  
"I was deceived," Li grunted from the floor.  
  
He was feeling light headed and woozy, and he could barely make out Tsukiro's image through his blurry vision.  
  
"No, no. You made your own choices. We may have influenced you, but your choices were all your own," Tsukiro said.  
  
He took another long drag from his cigar and threw it in Li's face.  
  
Li winced from the burn, but his pain from his stomach was much greater.  
  
"You…will…never succeed," Li could barely make out the words.  
  
"Traitor," Akatchi sneered.  
  
He flung the knife back at the man, and it hit its target cleanly.  
  
Li was dead before he could realize he had a knife lodged in his skull.  
  
"Come back in here and clear this filthy body out of my sight!" Tsukiro ordered.  
  
The five men that had been waiting outside came back inside.  
  
"Where do you want this body disposed?" a man asked.  
  
"Oh, wherever. Somewhere public. Somewhere which someone will discover the rotting flesh," Tsukiro said.  
  
"Yes, sir," the men bowed and heaved the body out of there.  
  
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The night before…  
  
"Mommy? Will you read this book to me?" a wide eyed girl looked up at her mother.  
  
"Stop, honey. Read the book to yourself and go to sleep. Or I'll have Maria to read it to you. You're nine years old, Tomoyo," Sonomi didn't bother to look up from her papers.  
  
"But I want you to read it to me," Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Honey, we don't get everything we want in life. These things are trivial compared to the important things--money, power, and fame. Don't you want that, darling? Money so you can buy whatever you want? More than enough friends?" Tomoyo's mother asked.   
  
"No. I want love," Tomoyo insisted.  
  
"And you have enough of it from me. Too much and you'll be spoiled. Maria!! Come here! Take Tomoyo to bed!" Sonomi shouted.  
  
Tomoyo tried to stare her mother down, but, as usual, it didn't work.  
  
Her mother didn't pay attention to her and continued filling out forms for a new business agreement.  
  
"Maria? Where's my daddy?" Tomoyo asked, walking upstairs hand in hand with her maid.  
  
Maria, an old maid who had worked for the Daidouji's since before Tomoyo's birth, pursed her lips and said, "You better ask your mother that, honey."  
  
"Stop calling me honey," Tomoyo said angrily.  
  
"Well, what do you want me to call you, sweetie?" Maria asked.  
  
She tucked Tomoyo into her bed, while the young girl answered.  
  
"Call me Tomoyo! I'm a person! Now, go away," Tomoyo said, and buried her head underneath her pillow.  
  
"Don't you want me to read this story to you? Sleeping Beauty?" Maria asked persistently.  
  
"No. Go away or I'll have mommy fire you," Tomoyo threatened.  
  
Maria walked out of the room, not bothering to look back as she turned off the lights and closed the door.  
  
Tears were streaming from her amethyst eyes as Tomoyo cried herself to sleep.  
  
Like always.   
  
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Touya and Sakura's eyes opened as the car lurched to a stop in front of an old, crumbling warehouse.  
  
"Dad, are you sure this is the right place? It doesn't really look like the place where you would work. Or that you should take Sakura here, either," Touya said.  
  
"I know. I wasn't going to take you guys here, but Sakura just begged me to take her to work. And this is work. Be cautious, okay? Also, I'm going in. I'll be out in about ten or so minutes. Wait for me, and don't leave the car," Fujitaka warned again, practically whispering.  
  
"Okay," Touya felt himself answered automatically.  
  
Touya had learned from past experience to agree with whatever his father said when the time came around his mother's birthday.  
  
Fujitaka got out and walked away, soon out of sight.  
  
Once he was gone, Touya immediately got up and went outside.  
  
"Touya! Where are you going?" Sakura asked.  
  
"You stay here---no. Wait. Come here with me. We're going to follow dad, okay? I have a hunch that there's more to work than he tells us," Touya said.  
  
He opened the back door and let Sakura crawl out, and he immediately locked the car and took the keys.  
  
Together they followed the direction in which they had last seen their father, and carefully tiptoed in his tracks.  
  
They entered the warehouse through a concealed door, and quietly followed their father to an office.  
  
Fujitaka knocked on the office and entered.  
  
"Quick!" Touya grabbed Sakura and shoved her and him into a broom closet right next to the office when he saw people coming.  
  
"Shh…" Touya shushed Sakura and pressed his ear against the wall.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" an unfamiliar voice asked harshly.  
  
"I've had some information that you've acquired a package from Egypt that was found in the pyramids of Cairo?"  
  
Touya recognized his father's voice, trembling slightly from fear.  
  
"So what?" the voice asked.  
  
"With your permission, I'd like to take that package. I'm a representative from Tomoeda University, and I'm a professor of archaeology. My colleagues and I are doing some extra work and would like to study the material. It would be vital to our research, you see. We'll do this all top secret. We'll return the contents of the package, and not report you in," Fujitaka said.  
  
"How do I know you're not some undercover cop trying to bust my drug ring?" the voice asked then laughed.  
  
"I can assure you, I'm not part of the government in any way," Fujitaka replied.  
  
"Hah. My answer is no. I don't trust anyone. You see that stain on the carpet? That's from twenty minutes ago. That's the blood of one of my closest friends who betrayed me. And you know who killed him? Me. With my bare hands. I did it," the man said.  
  
Sakura whimpered from the closet, but Touya tightened his grip on her.  
  
He furiously tried to send his father thought messages, though he had no telepathic powers.  
  
"Get out of there, dad. Hurry," Touya mumbled under his breath.  
  
Sakura looked up at him curiously and copied him, "Get out of there, Daddy. Hurry!"  
  
"Well, then. I'll get out now," Fujitaka said curtly, and turned to leave.  
  
He was on his way out, one foot out the door when a bullet struck him from the back.  
  
He doubled over, and Touya and Sakura burst out from the closet, "NO!!!"  
  
Blood spilled from Fujitaka's back, and Sakura gasped at the sight of her dead father.  
  
The people who Touya had seen coming immediately made for him and Sakura, and one of them shot for Sakura.  
  
Blood spurted from Sakura's arm, and she fell on the floor, unconscious…or dead?  
  
Touya, who had taken karate lessons, tried to fend off the five men, but he was struck on the back of his head with a baton and knocked out cold.  
  
"What should we do with them?" the men once again asked.  
  
"Ah. Take the man and throw him in the garbage. Throw the girl in there with him. The dogs will eat them before anyone finds them," Tsukiro said.  
  
"And the boy?"  
  
"Keep him. I have a feeling he could be useful for our service. He's strong. And proud. We could use some of that. Now hurry up. I don't want any more blood stains on the carpet," Tsukiro ordered.  
  
"Hai, sir."   
  
The five exited the office, two of them carting Touya away to a cell in the warehouse, two of them carrying Fujitaka and one of them with Sakura.  
  
"Three kills in one day. Good job, Akatchi," Tsukiro congratulated himself.  
  
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Two days later…  
  
"That's it. I'm running away!" Tomoyo declared to herself.  
  
Maria didn't look up from mending one of Sonomi's suits, and said, "All right, dear. Do whatever you'd like."  
  
Tomoyo stomped over to her closet where she dragged out a pink suitcase.  
  
She started stuffing clothes in there, then ran downstairs.  
  
Maria continued humming a tune to herself as she threaded a needle and continuing to sew.  
  
Tomoyo soon returned with as much food supplies she could find, put it in the suitcase and added her favorite stuffed animal, shut it closed and said, "I'm leaving!"  
  
"Okay, sweetie. Be back for dinner," Maria said.  
  
"No! I'm really leaving! Damn, no one takes me seriously around here!" Tomoyo swore.  
  
"Tomoyo!" Maria barked.  
  
"Sorry," Tomoyo whimpered, and slinked out of the room with her suitcase.   
  
Maria looked up from her sewing and made her way downstairs, trailing the young girl.  
  
Sonomi was drinking coffee and reading the morning newspaper when her daughter marched out of the double doors to outside.  
  
"Ma'am, do you want me to follow her?" Maria asked.  
  
"No, it's okay. She'll come back," Sonomi answered, reading the story on the murder of the leader of the Li clan.  
  
"Are you sure, ma'am? She sounds serious this time," Maria said.  
  
"No. It's fine. She'll come back once she runs out of food or if it gets cold. She'll come back," Sonomi answered, now reading the latest news on the stock exchange.  
  
Maria looked out of the windows next to the doors and saw Tomoyo's back, not once turning back.  
  
"Maria, it's fine!!" Sonomi nearly exclaimed, running out of patience, "She's my daughter, for goodness sakes. I raised her. I should know her by now. She'll come back."  
  
But Tomoyo never came back.  
  
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Syaoran stood staring at the coffin being lowered into the ground.  
  
Eriol sympathetically patted him on the back, while Syaoran's four sisters and his mother were sobbing their hearts out.  
  
Syaoran had a hard look in his eyes, with his hands jammed into the pockets of his suit.  
  
After the coffin was stationed in the ground, six feet under, the family came out and threw long stemmed roses onto the wooden casket.   
  
Afterwards, Meiling and the rest of the Li clan sprinkled rose petals onto the coffin until it was buried under hundreds of red flower petals.  
  
"Let's go home," Eriol said, and started nudging Syaoran towards the direction of the parked limos.  
  
"No. I've got to go find him," Syaoran said.  
  
"What? Find who?" Eriol asked.  
  
"My father told me that if something ever happened to him, I'd have to take his place and go find a guy."  
  
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Flashback-  
  
"Son, come over here," Syaoran father said.  
  
"What, father?" Syaoran asked, pausing for a moment from his sword movements.  
  
"Come over here. I need to talk to you. You're growing up and you're my only son; my heir."  
  
"All right," Syaoran put down his sword and walked over to his father.  
  
His father squatted down to be level in height with Syaoran, and said, "If anything ever happens to me, you must take my place."  
  
"I know that. You've told me a million times that I'm the heir to being the master of the Li clan," Syaoran said.  
  
"No. Something else. If something ever happens to me, you must go to a man named Tsukiro Akatchi. The man is my best friend, and I promised him that if something ever happens me that I would grant my son to him. Understand?"  
  
"Of course," Syaoran said, feeling grownup.  
  
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That had been only a year ago.  
  
"You're ranting. We can't do that!" Eriol said.  
  
"No. I've thought about this since the news that father died. I made a promise to my father and I can't break it. We're going to take a subway there."  
  
"You know, there's sort of that sea separating Japan from everything else?" Eriol said lightly.  
  
"Then I'll ride a boat. I'm going. I made this decision already. You can either come or leave me," Syaoran said.  
  
"I'll come. But I'm warning you, this is the wrong choice! I'll just go with you until you realize what a big mistake you've made, and then I'll come home with you. If we're going to go, let's go tomorrow at daybreak," Eriol said.  
  
"No. We're going NOW," Syaoran said.  
  
"What? It's only noon!" Eriol raised his voice slightly, acquiring stares from some of the elders.  
  
"We're going now. I have enough money in my wallet to last us about a month living in downtown Tokyo," Syaoran said.  
  
Eriol sighed. Syaoran had been his best friend since they were young, and he wasn't going to let some crazy adventure separate them.  
  
"Fine. Let's go right now. We'll walk to the subway station, buy a ticket there, and ride to as far as we can. Then we'll take a boat trip to Tokyo then make our way downtown," Eriol stated flatly.  
  
For the first time since the news of his father's death, Syaoran gave Eriol a tight smile--more like a grimace, however, and said, "Good. I knew'd you be with me. Besides, you must have connections to- Tsukiro Akatchi , don't you?"  
  
"Yes. Let me get my laptop from the limo. Also, are we going to enter the county illegally?" Eriol asked.  
  
"No. You can make us false visas," Syaoran replied.  
  
Meiling, who had been skulking around her two idols, had perked up when she had heard them talking about taking a trip.  
  
"Can I come?" Meiling suddenly asked.  
  
"What? To where?" Eriol asked.  
  
"To where you're going," Meiling replied.  
  
"No. You stay at home. And don't ever tell anyone about what you've heard," Syaoran ordered.  
  
Meiling pouted, then her eyes narrowed.  
  
Then she thought, 'If they won't let me go…I'll follow them.'  
  
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Meiling was lost.  
  
She had followed her cousin and his best friend all throughout the train ride, sneaking aboard and hiding in the cargo space.  
  
And she followed them to the ports, where she boarded a boat closely behind Eriol and Syaoran.  
  
And here she was, lost.  
  
She had lost them right after getting off the boat.  
  
There was a much larger crowd than she had expected, and had easily lost Syaoran and Eriol through the throngs of people.  
  
Meiling sighed in despair, and decided to follow the crowd to the inner streets of Tokyo.  
  
She slowly walked up and down the streets, hoping to catch sight of Syaoran and Eriol, but there was no trace of the two boys.  
  
Meiling sat down on the concrete sidewalk, not minding the people who were walking around her.  
  
She scooted over to the edge of the curb and perched there, playing with a stick that was on the ground.  
  
Meiling felt someone tap her shoulder, and looked up at a girl her age with long purplish hair.  
  
"Who are you?" Meiling asked.  
  
"I should ask you the same thing. My name's Tomoyo. You look hungry. Want to come to my house?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Um…sure," Meiling said, putting aside the warnings her mother had always told her about strangers.  
  
"Follow me," Tomoyo said.  
  
On the walk through the alley, Meiling scrutinized Tomoyo.  
  
She was wearing a beautiful purple skirt with a white peasant top that were obviously high quality, but the velvet on the dress was matted with dirt and the shirt had stains on it.  
  
"What's your name?" Tomoyo asked while they were climbing over a fence.  
  
"Meiling. I'm from Hong Kong," Meiling replied.  
  
"Cool. Isn't that far away?" Tomoyo inquired.  
  
"Yeah. I rode a subway and a boat," Meiling told her new friend.  
  
"Wow. Well, we're here. Follow me," Tomoyo was standing at the entrance of an apartment building, and she went inside.  
  
The apartment's inside was run down, but it looked like many people lived there.  
  
It wasn't too bad, but definitely different from what Meiling was used to.  
  
Tomoyo climbed up the stairs and up and up to the twenty second floor, and both girls were panting in unison once they reached the door.  
  
Tomoyo knocked on the door and yelled, "It's me! I brought a friend home for dinner!"  
  
The door was slowly opened by a boy not much older than them; maybe 15 or 16 at the most.  
  
Meiling nearly shrieked at the sight of him, however.  
  
The boy had deathly white skin, and was so thin he seemed like a ghost.   
  
His head was entirely bald, and he had piercing silver eyes that matched his pale skin. (think the guy from the 1995 movie Powder. or a really skinny, white Lex Luthor from Smallville)  
  
No, not pale--translucent skin.  
  
His sickly white body clashed loudly with the black clothes he was wearing, and his silver eyes were so pale that he could pass as blind.  
  
Tomoyo said to Meiling, "Don't be scared. He's really nice. But he doesn't talk. Isn't his head cool? It's so shiny!"   
  
"What's his name?" Meiling asked as they walked into the strange apartment.  
  
"I dunno. Like I said, he doesn't talk. He took me in and feeds me. And this other girl, but she's always asleep," Tomoyo answered.  
  
The girls took off their shoes and stepped into the quiet apartment.  
  
It wasn't too big or too small, just right.  
  
It had one bedroom, a kitchen and living room, and a full bathroom.  
  
The one thing that made it seem so strange was that everything was white--white walls, ceiling, carpet, even the furniture was white. Even the curtains were white, letting sunlight stream into the apartment.  
  
"We're just about to have dinner. You like pasketti?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I guess. What is it?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Noodles and tomato sauce. Here, this is Sakura. I named her. She had a necklace on that read it in Japanese," Tomoyo introduced Meiling to a still girl on the sofa.  
  
"Is she asleep?" Meiling gently prodded Sakura's toe.  
  
The boy shot her a glance, and Meiling immediately withdrew her hand.  
  
"He's weird," Meiling whispered to Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo heartily agreed, but said, "Dinner's all ready. Sit down."  
  
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The girls had a nice dinner, with the two girls chatting away.   
  
Throughout the whole meal, the white, bald boy sat silent, not eating.  
  
"Isn't he going to eat?" Meiling asked through a mouthful of noodles.  
  
"I don't think so. He never eats. Maybe that's why he's so skinny. But he doesn't starve. But doesn't he make good pasketti?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Yup. Where's he going?" Meiling asked.  
  
"To check on Sakura. You gonna eat that bread?"  
  
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The teen walked over to the sofa, and gently wiped away beads of sweat from the young girl's face.  
  
He stared at her, not blinking, and in return, Sakura's eyes slowly opened.  
  
"Who am I?" were the first words out of her mouth.  
  
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"She's awake!" Tomoyo gleefully shouted to Meiling.  
  
They quickly finished the remains of their dinner and put it in the sink, and ran over to the sofa.  
  
Sakura was still lying on there, eyes wide open and taking in her surroundings.  
  
"Hi! My name's Tomoyo! And this is Meiling!" Tomoyo introduced herself.  
  
"Tomoyo said you've been asleep for a long time," Meiling added.  
  
"I know. Who's he?" Sakura asked quietly.  
  
"We dunno," Meiling answered.  
  
Sakura slowly scrutinized the boy, and said, "Yue."  
  
"Moon," Tomoyo translated.  
  
"Yukito…" Sakura's eyes narrowed in recognition, and something flashed quickly in her eyes but soon disappeared.  
  
"Snow bunny," Tomoyo translated again.  
  
The boy shot Tomoyo a look and Tomoyo said, "He wants to know if you remember anything."  
  
"I don't know…no, I don't. What's this?" Sakura pointed at a bandage on her arm.  
  
"It's a scrape you got when Yuki found you," Tomoyo said, and winked.  
  
"Yuki?" Meiling asked.  
  
"We now appoint our guardian as Yuki!" Tomoyo exclaimed.  
  
"It fits," Sakura agreed, and said, "Moon bunny?"  
  
"Perhaps," Meiling said.  
  
"You want to get up? We just had dinner," Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura slowly struggled to get up, then tried to stand up, succeeding after five tries.  
  
"I think some chicken soup would do me good," Sakura said.  
  
Yuki rose and headed to the kitchen, pausing to collect the cups Meiling and Tomoyo had left behind.  
  
"Does he cook, too?" Sakura whispered to the other two girls.  
  
"Yeah," Meiling said  
  
"He's nice. So what are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I ran away from home. I stumbled into Yuki and he took me home," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Why'd you run away from home?" Sakura asked.  
  
"My mommy didn't like me and I don't have a daddy," Tomoyo replied casually.  
  
"Oh," Sakura thought about that for a second and said, "What about you Meiling?"  
  
"I was feeling like adventure so I followed my cousin and his friend from Hong Kong all the way here," Meiling explained.  
  
"Uh oh. Are you going to try and find them?" Sakura inquired.  
  
"Pshaw."  
  
"Psh-what?"   
  
"Pshaw! That means, as if. I'm happy here. For the time being," Meiling said.  
  
The three girls spent the rest of the evening talking, about what their lives had been.  
  
Only Sakura remained quiet, taking everything in.  
  
Once she glanced at Yuki and found him staring at her, sympathizing.  
  
She slowly nodded at him, then resumed her conversation.  
  
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"SAKURA!!!!!!" Touya bolted up from his bed, sweating.  
  
"Ah, awake are we?" the guard at the gate commented.  
  
"Who are you? Where am I?" Touya asked, panicking.   
  
"Don't you remember?" asked a new voice from the shadows of the dark cell.  
  
"Who are you?" Touya demanded.  
  
"Tsukiro Akatchi. Yes, yes, the famed ring leader. Don't you remember? Bursting out from the closet with your little sister, only to have her shot?"   
  
Touya gasped, and the events from couple days ago came flooding back at him.  
  
"My father's dead, right?" Touya said, more like a statement than a question.  
  
"Indeed. Shot in the stomach with a bullet," Tsukiro answered.  
  
"You're sick," Touya stated, "What do you want with me?"  
  
"I needed a new recruit for the club. You see, Mr. Li died when he betrayed us. And I need a replacement. And then you appeared. You're strong. And will be loyal, once you're broken in," Akatchi said.  
  
"Broken in? I'm not a horse nor dog," Touya said.  
  
"Ah, no. But you are my slave."  
  
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"No such luck," Eriol said, still typing away at his computer.  
  
"Are you sure? Any knowledge where the Tsukiro might be?" Syaoran asked, pacing around in the tiny motel room.  
  
"None. And believe me, I have all the connections," Eriol said.  
  
"Then what are we going to do?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Wait."  
  
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Three years later…  
  
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"Ha! They finally stopped printing my name in the Missing Children's section," Tomoyo laughed through her Fruit Loops.   
  
"Seriously?" Sakura asked, and grabbed the newspaper from her hands.  
  
"Yeah. I'm now officially declared dead. And the newspaper also says my mother didn't even come to my funeral," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I don't see how you could laugh about that," Sakura said thoughtfully.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "You get used to it."  
  
"C'mon, you guys! We're going to be late for school!" Meiling came out from the bathroom  
  
"I'm almost done," Sakura said, and finished the remains of her toast.  
  
She grabbed her backpack and planted a kiss on Yuki's bald head, who was reading a book in the living room.  
  
The four of them had lived the past three years in harmony  
  
The girls went to school, while Yuki disappeared every night from 11 and reappeared at 6 in the morning, always in time to make the girls breakfast.  
  
The girls never questioned what he did, but they knew that he was working and had enough money to support the four of them.  
  
The three girls took on the surname Yuki, and they were Sakura Yuki, Meiling Yuki and Tomoyo Yuki--three sisters living with their guardian.  
  
No one ever questioned their life at home, and everyone at school believed their images and never wondered about the distinct resemblance between the missing Tomoyo Daidouji and Tomoyo Yuki.  
  
However, Yuki himself was still a mystery.  
  
The girls had never seen him take a shower, eat or have any signs of growing hair.  
  
They had never seen him outside the apartment, but they knew he left occasionally to buy groceries and such.  
  
"We're getting our math tests back today. Wish us luck!" Tomoyo followed Sakura out the door and gave Yuki another big kiss.  
  
Meiling got her book bag and slung it over her shoulder, and kissed Yuki in the same spot Sakura had, and they left the apartment building to set out for school.  
  
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"Did you deliver the goods?" Tsukiro asked.  
  
"Yes," Touya answered bitterly, staring at the floor.  
  
"No discrepancies?"  
  
Touya shook his head.  
  
"Good. You may leave."  
  
Touya turned to leave, but first he had to bow respectfully then exit.  
  
On his way out, as usual, he stared at a spot on the floor, where his father had been shot.  
  
"Oh, Kinomoto," Tsukiro said.  
  
"Yes?" Touya turned around.  
  
"I need you to train some new recruits. I've tested your loyalty and I know that you won't be leaving anytime soon," Akatchi smiled evilly at the sight of a tattoo on Touya's shoulder.  
  
It was the sign of loyalty to the Akatchi gang, and Touya was bound to it. Even if he did manage to escape the clutches of the gang, the police would shoot him down once they saw the tattoo.  
  
Touya was stuck.  
  
"Anyways, two young men have petitioned to join our team. One of them's the son of Li. Apparently his father had told him to come to me if something ever happened. They're worthless for me to train, so as a mission, I'd like to you train them. They're quite young, but my men report that they're quite spunky. I've decided to let you go for the time being. I've rented an apartment close to here, where you will be housing the boys. Just live with them. Find things about them. And remember," Tsukiro paused.  
  
"I'm always watching you."  
  
Tsukiro Akatchi threw a set of keys at Touya, where he instantly caught them.  
  
"Thank you," Touya bowed again, and set off to leave.  
  
On the exit, he met up with two little boys.  
  
"What do you want? Get away from here. This a dangerous place," Touya warned.  
  
The brown haired one rolled his eyes and said, "We're supposed to meet up with a Touya Kinomoto."  
  
"You mean you're the two guys I'm supposed to train?" Touya asked in disgust.  
  
"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" the one who had spoken asked.  
  
"Not right now. I've got other things on my mind. I'm supposed to take you to this apartment."  
  
Touya strode to the back of the warehouse where his car was parked.  
  
One bittersweet benefit to being part of the chain was having a lot of money--therefore, expensive cars, clothes and houses.  
  
Touya got in the front seat of his black BMW, his personal favorite car.  
  
The brown-haired one got in the front and the blue haired one got in the back with his laptop.  
  
"So, what's your names?" Touya asked.  
  
"Eriol," the one in the back stated.  
  
The front one scowled and said, "Syaoran. Li."  
  
Touya was surprised, "You mean you're part of the Li clan?"  
  
"Yeah. My dad had told me before his death that if anything happened to him, I was to take his place," Syaoran said.  
  
The past three years Eriol and Syaoran had spent all their energy into finding where this Tsukiro Akatchi might be. They found him, and they weren't that surprised to find out that he was a famed gang leader who mastered in drugs.   
  
"Interesting," Touya said, his mind lolling over the fact that the last Li had betrayed the gang.  
  
They were stuck in the morning traffic of downtown Tokyo, and Touya looked out the window.  
  
There was a girl around 12 or 13 with brown hair and emerald eyes, carrying a backpack and trotting along the sidewalk.  
  
"Sakura…" Touya breathed the word out, but blinked.  
  
When his eyes opened back up, the girl was gone, lost in the swirling crowds in the sidewalk.  
  
Couldn't be. She was dead, after all.   
  
"I'm imagining things," Touya muttered to himself.  
  
"What?" Eriol piped up.  
  
"Shut up," Touya retorted.  
  
The cars behind them beeped at them when the traffic cleared up, and Touya slammed his foot on the gas pedal.  
  
Touya found his way to an apartment building, where he rode the elevator up to the 68th floor, Syaoran and Eriol tagging along.  
  
"How old are you two?" Touya asked, jingling his keys in his pockets.  
  
"Twelve."  
  
"Mm."  
  
"You?"   
  
"Nineteen. Almost twenty."  
  
"Ah."  
  
They got off the elevator and Touya tried the key to one of the doors.  
  
It fit perfectly, and he turned the doorknob open.  
  
Not to his surprise, his things were already there, along with Syaoran's and Eriol's.   
  
"Well. Let's get settled in."  
  
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End of Chapter 1. Next Chapter: 'Ten Years Later'.  
  
A/N: This is the first chapter! I'm posting this up earlier than I planned. My plan was to write all of these, then post them up one by one, but I got ahead of myself. So, here's chapter 1. Right now, I'm up to chapter 10. These are all *plot development*. But read, and mainly review. 


	2. Ten Years Later

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 2: Ten Years Later  
  
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Ten years later…  
  
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Sakura woke up panting, beads of cold sweat trickling down her face.  
  
'Another nightmare. They're getting more frequent.'  
  
Sakura rolled over, disturbing Tomoyo.   
  
Sakura got up from the floor of the bedroom where the three girls slept, and headed towards the kitchen.  
  
She flicked on the light and was surprised to see Yuki sitting there, gazing off into space.  
  
Sakura didn't say anything as she fixed herself a cup of tea, but could feel Yuki's eyes on her.  
  
"Fine. I'll tell you what my dream was about, since you keep on asking," Sakura sighed.  
  
She got her favorite mug, poured steaming water into it and put a tea bag in it.  
  
She sat down on the dining table with Yuki and started to talk.  
  
"I keep having the same dream over and over. I'm in darkness, and someone's gripping me. I hear a gun shot, and then we burst out of the dark room. That's all I can remember…but it's scary. And I know I shouldn't be having nightmares; I'm 22."  
  
Yuki gave Sakura a look.  
  
"Yeah, I know. It's okay. Yuki, why don't you talk? I don't know how you could stand thirteen years or more without communicating with anyone. And you never eat. Or go to the bathroom. And your head's always bald. You're so pale. And you have a job, but we don't know what it is even though we've been living with you for thirteen years. All we know is that you're around 29 years old. We don't know who you are," Sakura mused.  
  
Yuki reached out and took Sakura's hand, and held it between his own white hands.  
  
"Yes, I love you too, Yuki. You know that," Sakura said.  
  
She yawned and said, "Well, I better get back to bed. I have to go to work tomorrow. Yuki, stop going to work, okay? Stay home and rest or something. We three make enough money."  
  
Sakura left the room and went back to sleep.  
  
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Touya woke up and stumbled out his room, looking at his watch.  
  
  
He was still wearing his clothes from the night before, and he groaned when he saw it was already 11.  
  
He walked out into the spacious living room, where he saw Eriol and an unfamiliar girl laughing and drinking milk and bagels.  
  
"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" Touya asked, raising his eyebrows when he saw that the girl was wearing one of Eriol's shirts, which came down to her knees.   
  
"Hey, no good morning? Sukie, meet Touya, my roommate. He's 29 and grumpy," Eriol said.  
  
The girl giggled flirtatiously and said, "Pleasure to meet you. My name's Sukie."  
  
She flipped her hair and smiled sexily at Touya, who returned it with a glare.  
  
"Where's Syaoran?" Touya asked, pouring himself a glass of milk.  
  
"Out, of course," Eriol replied.  
  
"Well, I better go. I'll change back into my clothes now," Sukie said.  
  
She stood up and went into Eriol's room and shut the door.  
  
"Where'd you pick her up?" Touya asked, stealing a bagel from Eriol's plate.  
  
"At a club last night. After the meeting with Tsukiro," Eriol said.  
  
"Was Syaoran there?" Touya asked.  
  
"Yeah. He left right after. He said he's doing some extra work for Tsukiro. He took your car, though," Eriol answered.  
  
"Aren't you a little young to be picking girls off the street and sleeping with them?" Touya asked.  
  
"Hell no. I'm twenty-three. And she's not from 'the street'."  
  
"Whatever. Where's Syaoran?"  
  
"He's running errands; I already told you that," Eriol answered.  
  
"For who?"  
  
"Tsukiro!!"  
  
"All right."  
  
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"You have it?" Syaoran asked in the darkness of the broken down building.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Syaoran brought out a black leather suitcase and set it on the broken down card table.  
  
"Here's the money."  
  
"And the package?"   
  
"Here."  
  
The other men slid out an identical suitcase and handed it to Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran gripped it tightly and took it.  
  
"Aren't you going to check its contents?" the leader asked.  
  
"As soon as I do that you'd shoot me down," Syaoran replied.  
  
The man laughed and said, "Tsukiro's got a good man in his hands. Say hi to him for me."  
  
"Of course."   
  
Syaoran nodded and left the building, where he bumped into a pale, thin man wearing a black suit, sunglasses and hat.  
  
In the car, Syaoran wrinkled his nose at the whiteness of the man.  
  
"That guy needs to get some sun," Syaoran muttered.  
  
He turned on the engine and sped off towards the apartment.  
  
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"Where's Yuki?" Sakura yelled as she buttoned her shirt up.  
  
"I don't know! He's gone! He's probably running errands or something," Meiling replied, holding a piece of toast between her teeth as she drew some eyeliner onto her face.  
  
"I'm going to be late for work!" Tomoyo squealed as she ran out from the shower, wearing a towel wrapped around her.  
  
"Me too," Sakura answered back as she gulped down a glass of orange juice.  
  
"I'm outta here," Meiling replied.  
  
She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, pausing to apply some lipstick on.  
  
"All right. I'm going too," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling ran out of the building and started the walk to her job.  
  
Meiling worked at a health clinic, or rather a gym.   
  
She used her experience from years of training with Syaoran to land a job there; today was her first day at the job.  
  
'Syaoran. I wonder how he's doing…' Meiling thought, and as usual, felt a wave of sadness shower over her.  
  
She missed him…but her life was different now.  
  
She had been missing from Hong Kong for over 13 years; everyone thought her dead.  
  
Little did she know she was living in the same city as her cousin.  
  
"I'm off!" Sakura yelled to Tomoyo, who nodded.  
  
Sakura ran downstairs and unlocked her bike from the bike stand and headed out.  
  
She paused for a moment when her brain screamed, "ROLLER BLADES!!"   
  
Sakura narrowed her eyes, and shook her head, "I can't afford roller blades."  
  
In the sunny morning, Sakura waved to everyone as she rode her daily commute to the restaurant where she worked.  
  
She parked her bike in the alley, where the entrance to the kitchen was.  
  
"Sakura! You're late!" the manager exclaimed.  
  
"I'm SOOOOOooo sorry!!" Sakura apologized.  
  
She took her menus and headed towards the front of the restaurant, where people were waiting to be seated.  
  
"Good morning! How many in your table? Five? Come this way."  
  
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"Good morning, Tomoyo. The first group comes in at eleven. They're all the same people as before, but two people signed up at the last minute," Tomoyo's boss told her.  
  
"Okay. Right," Tomoyo said and she headed towards the doorway of one of the rooms.  
  
She worked at an anger management clinic, where she was a counselor.  
  
At night, Tomoyo designed clothes for the clothing brand XOXO.   
  
The three of them worked constantly from morning to night, making money to support themselves.  
  
It wasn't the ideal life for them, but they always had time for each other and time to rest.  
  
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"WHAT??!?!??!?!?!?!??!" Touya blew up.  
  
"See! That's what I mean!" Eriol explained to Syaoran.  
  
"I see," Syaoran nodded thoughtfully, "You ought to go. No, you NEED to go."  
  
"WHAT????" Touya yelled again.  
  
"I'm going with you! You won't be all alone!" Eriol said persistently.  
  
"I am SO not going to an anger management class! I'm fine as I am!" Touya shouted.  
  
"Nuh uh. Besides, Tsukiro ordered it. He thinks even you're too 'angry'," Eriol said.  
  
"Whatever. I'm going to the gym," Syaoran shook his head, sighing.  
  
"Are you going to stop by the HQ to deliver the goods?" Touya asked.  
  
"Yeah," Syaoran said.  
  
"Don't take my car," Touya said, and continued his bickering with Eriol.  
  
"Whatever," Syaoran said, rolled his eyes and left the apartment.  
  
"Fine! We'll go once. If you hate it, we'll drop out," Eriol said  
  
"What? You know I'm going to hate it anyways," Touya said.  
  
"So? I have to follow Tsukiro's orders," Eriol said.  
  
Touya blew at the hair falling over his eyes, making them billow out.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes. Now, I got to go check on my stock purchases," Eriol said.  
  
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"Here's the case," Syaoran handed Tsukiro the briefcase.  
  
Tsukiro expertly cracked the lock on the briefcase with his teeth and opened it.  
  
In it were crisp, new plastic baggies filled with white, sifted powder.  
  
Syaoran's lip curled at the sight but hid his disgust from Akatchi.  
  
The only reason he was staying in the drug gang was for his father.  
  
He didn't want to have anything to do with drugs, but loyalty to his father preceded himself.  
  
"Count it," Tsukiro directed.  
  
Syaoran stood back as three bodyguards standing at the door came over and started counting the numerous plastic bags.  
  
They were done in minutes, and Tsukiro asked, "Is it all there?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good. And good job, Syaoran." Tsukiro praised Syaoran.  
  
He winced inwardly, but gave a fake smile in gratitude.  
  
"Now. You're 22. It's time for you to have some real jobs. You know the Noshiko gang?" Tsukiro asked.  
  
"The ones I dealt with this morning? Who traded us?" Syaoran asked, racking his brain for any information.  
  
"The one and only. Now, I have some information that one of their long time members are a computer genius. The man has created a formula for multiplying the main drug found in cocaine, and with that formula they could make billions by themselves. It's all some science shit which I don't care to explore, but we need that formula," Tsukiro said.  
  
"Can't Eriol create one? Or at least copy it?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Tsukiro laughed shortly and said, "The man spent 13 years on that formula. All we have to do is steal the disc that its on. That simple."  
  
"But three things. They could easily make copies of the disc, where can I find the disc, and who knows if the man might make another one?" Syaoran inquired.  
  
"The program is so large that it would corrupt any other disc. The disc was created by the man himself. If we have it, then Eriol could break through it and we can use it. We do not know where the disc is. But I've made a plan. If we just kidnap the man, as valuable as he is, the Noshiko gang will come up with the disc in exchange for him."  
  
"And if they give us the disc?"  
  
"We have the key."  
  
"But what about the man? Do we destroy him, let him go or recruit him?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"We'll deal with that later. This is your first mission, and if you fail--," Tsukiro motioned by slicing his finger across his neck.  
  
Syaoran gulped, but said, "I will not fail."  
  
He left the room briskly, mind already coming up with ideas.  
  
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Sakura was in the bathroom quickly stripping off her restaurant uniform and donning a pink jogging suit.  
  
"I'm out of here! I'll be back by 5 and take the closing shift," Sakura yelled to the manager, who nodded.  
  
Sakura looked at her watch and saw it was 10:55.  
  
"Oh crap, I'm late!" Sakura squealed.  
  
She ran back to the alley and took her bike.  
  
Sakura pedaled furiously to the Tokyo High School, where she worked as a gym teacher and a cheerleading coach.  
  
Sakura quickly parked her bike with all the student's bikes and jogged into the building and across it to the gym.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, you guys," Sakura panted.  
  
Twenty high school sophomores stared back at her.  
  
"All right. Roll call?"  
  
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"Your customer. Help him," Meiling's boss, Mr. Shitoku, directed to Meiling.  
  
"All right. I won't mess this up," Meiling told herself.  
  
"Hi, how may I help you?" Meiling asked cheerfully to the man who had walked in.  
  
He was her age, with tousled hair and chocolate eyes she could melt into.  
  
"No thanks. I'll just be here for a couple of hours," Syaoran told her.  
  
"May I see your membership card?" she asked.  
  
Syaoran flashed a card at her, and scowled and headed towards the weight lifting machine.  
  
Meiling's eyes lingered on the back of his head…  
  
'I could swear that guy acts just like Syaoran.'  
  
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"All right. Is everyone here?" Tomoyo asked mildly to the group of people.  
  
"No. Two people are missing," one of the members said.  
  
"Um…it's Touya and Eriol?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"We're here!" a voice yelped from the hallway.  
  
Tomoyo grinned and walked out the door to see a man her age holding down a bigger guy who was older than him.  
  
"Touya and Eriol?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"The one and only," Eriol flashed a melting smile at Tomoyo, who immediately blushed.  
  
"C'mon, Touya. Come inside and meet your new friends," Tomoyo teased.  
  
"Shut up. I'm NOT going in," Touya said, grunting as he tried to pull back from Eriol.  
  
"You're not…scared, are you?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Of course not! Fine, I'll go in," Touya let go of Eriol, who promptly fell to the floor, and marched into the room.  
  
Tomoyo gave Eriol a hand.  
  
"You okay?" she asked.  
  
"I am now," Eriol said, and winked at her.  
  
Tomoyo could feel the heat rising to her face.  
  
"Um. You can go in. I need to go to the bathroom and freshen up," Tomoyo said, and briskly walked to the bathroom, feeling Eriol's eyes boring through her.  
  
Tomoyo went into the ladies' room and checked her face, and it was bright red.  
  
'Argh. Why am I blushing? The guy's a total playboy!' Tomoyo thought to herself.  
  
She took three deep, calming breaths and went back to the main room where the rest of the group was.  
  
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Sakura was after school with the high school varsity cheerleading squad, which consisted of juniors and seniors not much younger than her.  
  
"Okay girls. Let's work on that back flip," Sakura directed.  
  
The captain of the squad flipped her hair and performed a perfect back flip.  
  
Sakura smiled and said, "Good job. Tasha, why don't we split the group into two. I'll take one and you can take the other."  
  
For two hours, Sakura taught the girls new tricks to use on their upcoming cheer.  
  
"Ms. Yuki? It's already 4:50," one of the girls said.  
  
"Oh my gosh, it is! Crap! I'm late--again! Bye girls!" Sakura yelled back as she ran towards the bike rack.  
  
She got back on her bike and pedaled quickly back to the restaurant, sweating.  
  
"I'm here!" Sakura announced to the chef.  
  
"You have five minutes to change and clock in," the chef said.  
  
"Right," Sakura said, and quickly ran to the bathroom.  
  
She changed back into her hostess' uniform and went to the front of the restaurant.  
  
Business was slow around that time, so Sakura went to the cash register and clocked herself in.  
  
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After the session, Eriol and Touya left, but not before Eriol gave Tomoyo a seductive wink.  
  
As expected, Tomoyo blushed deep red, and Touya dragged Eriol out, eager to leave.  
  
"All right. I hated it. The other people are total freaks who should be at a shrink's office!" Touya declared.  
  
"Uh huh," Eriol nodded absently, still thinking about the beautiful, long haired girl.  
  
"So I don't have to go anymore, right? I tried it out, that's it, end of story," Touya said.  
  
"Nope. We're still going."  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
"There's a certain purple haired girl I need to catch, and you're going to be my bait."  
  
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Meiling followed Syaoran's figure with narrowed eyes, and didn't realize that her boss was standing right next to her.  
  
"Ah hem," he coughed.  
  
"Oh! Sorry!" Meiling apologized.  
  
"You know the policy. No romance on the job," he said.  
  
"I know. I just thought he looked like my long lost cousin," Meiling said, before realizing how lame it sounded.  
  
"Right. Now, I need you to go counsel this young woman. She seems to have a problem with the ab cruncher," he said.  
  
Meiling nodded, and cast one last, long look in the direction   
  
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Tomoyo was at the XOXO work building in downtown Tokyo, in her own little cubicle she had acquired  
  
She had spread out sketches of her latest designs, jean jackets lined with fur that came down to your knees.  
  
However, she couldn't concentrate.   
  
"Eriol…" she whispered.  
  
Her mind slid back to noon, around 12:30 after the session was over.   
  
It had been pretty uneventful, except for the fact that Eriol had seemed to be following every move she had made.   
  
Tomoyo shook her head, and said to herself, "Stop it. Stop it, Tomoyo! You're not going to date unless your serious about getting married!"  
  
Some people around her gave her weird glances, and she smiled sheepishly.  
  
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Syaoran had been working out the whole day, ignoring time as he did push ups, pull ups, weights, joggings and sit ups.  
  
And he was not completely oblivious to the fact that one of the girls working seemed to have a crush on him, or at least kept on staring at him.  
  
She reminded him of his cousin, Meiling. Of course, she was way back in Hong Kong, probably thinking him dead.   
  
'I wonder if she misses me.'  
  
Syaoran got off from the work bench and got a towel to wipe his sweating face.  
  
He took a swig from his water bottle, and sat on the machine, panting, when suddenly She walked in.  
  
Time seemed to go in slow motion as a beautiful girl, slim, about his age, walked into the gym.  
  
She was wearing a uniform from a nearby restaurant, and her hair swished around as she smiled and greeted the girl that had been staring at him.  
  
Syaoran couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation, which mainly went like this:  
  
"Hey! What's up?" the black haired one that worked at the gym asked.  
  
"Not much. I'm on my break from the restaurant, but I gotta get back in ten minutes," she replied.  
  
"What time are you working till?" the black haired one asked  
  
The brown haired, green eyed one replied, "Closing. 11 pm. What about you?"   
  
"Around 6. Same time as Tomoyo. Well, I gotta go. Duty calls," the black haired one said, rolled her eyes and waved.  
  
"I'll be going, now. Bye!" the girl called as she headed out the door.  
  
"Bye Sakura!!"  
  
Sakura.  
  
"Excuse me, are you going to be using that machine?" someone behind Syaoran asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no. You can take it," Syaoran courteously nodded and left, heading towards the men's locker room so he could wash up and go home.  
  
After taking a shower and changing, Syaoran headed out the door.  
  
"Excuse me. That woman you talked to a couple of minutes ago? What restaurant did she work at?" Syaoran asked.  
  
The girl looked at him surprised, "Um. The one between the stationary store and McDonalds. Oh, by the way, we just started a new policy. It's called the sign in/sign out sheet. We need to keep track of who comes in every night and when they leave, so could you sign here?"  
  
Syaoran took a pen from the girl and quickly signed his name, "Li Syaoran."  
  
The girl gasped.  
  
"Anything wrong?" he asked curiously.  
  
"N-nothing. Have a good night," the girl said, trembling.  
  
Syaoran shrugged and racked his brain trying to remember the name of the restaurant.  
  
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'So it is him. Oh my god. Why is he asking for Sakura? Maybe he likes her. Nah, Syaoran never liked guys. But then again, he's changed in the past 13 years. I still can't believe its him. I was right!' Meiling thought.  
  
She sighed and stared at the sign out sheet again.  
  
'Now how am I going to break it to him that I'm his cousin? He doesn't even know that I'm here…'  
  
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"Table for one?" Sakura asked cheerfuly to the handsome guy in the lobby.  
  
"Yeah," the guy replied, and gave Sakura a small smile.  
  
"Okie-doke. Come this way. By the way, weren't you at the gym like thirty minutes ago? I saw you there while I was visiting my friend," Sakura said and handed him a menu.  
  
"Your server will come in about ten minutes for your order. Have a nice night," Sakura said, bowed respectfully and left.  
  
'Score!' Syaoran laughing thought, and shook his head.  
  
He couldn't help but notice the way her hair cascaded down her slender body, and the way her innocent green eyes blinked at him.  
  
'Why am I thinking about women all of a sudden? It's not like I date. Hm. It's definitely her. She had alluring pheromones,' Syaoran thought.  
  
Syaoran then shook his head again, horrified all of a sudden, 'Alluring?!?'  
  
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It was around 7 when Tomoyo finally turned off her computer, put her sketch pad in her bag and clicked off the light in her cubicle.  
  
"I'm leaving now," she said to no one in particular, and walked out of the section to the elevators.  
  
Her stomach rumbled on the ride down to the ground level, reminding her to eat some dinner.   
  
She headed out the double doors of the building towards the main entrance to begin the long walk home, and stepped out into the cool air of dusk.  
  
"Can I treat you out to dinner?" a voice behind Tomoyo asked, and she shrieked in horror.  
  
"Get away from me! I have pepper spray on my key chain!" Tomoyo exclaimed hysterically.  
  
"You don't have a key chain with you, and I don't think you'd want to spray me," the voice replied.  
  
Tomoyo whirled around and was surprised to see Eriol.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" Tomoyo apologized, "Kind of paranoid at night. Never know who might jump me."  
  
Eriol laughed, and Tomoyo couldn't help but admire his easy going smile and white teeth.  
  
"So is that a no or yes?" he asked.  
  
"To what?" Tomoyo asked cluelessly  
  
"Dinner. I hope I'm not being too forward, but I'd really like to get to know you better," Eriol said.  
  
"Dinner sounds fine," Tomoyo nodded, though her mind was screaming, 'Don't go with him! You don't anything about him!!'  
  
"Car's waiting over there."  
  
Tomoyo followed Eriol over to the sidewalk where a black Mercedes Benz was waiting.  
  
Tomoyo flushed slightly at the sight of the rich car, reminding her of her past, rich childhood.  
  
Now she walked to work everyday.  
  
"Get in," Eriol said, and opened the door for Tomoyo.  
  
She hesitated, and Eriol said concerned, "I hope you don't think I'm going to rape you or anything."  
  
"Oh, no," Tomoyo laughed weakly.  
  
She got into the car, breathing in the cool leather scent, and Eriol said, "Does that restaurant between McDonalds and the stationary store sound good to you?"  
  
"Sure! My friend Sakura works there," Tomoyo said lightly.  
  
They drove in silence the three blocks to the restaurant, and they finally parked in the parking lot of the classy restaurant.  
  
"Hey Sakura!" Tomoyo chimed as she saw her friend in the lobby of the restaurant.  
  
"Hey! Who's that?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Oh. This is Eriol. I met him at one of my sessions. Not that he goes or anything. He brings his friend. He's quite angry," Tomoyo said, and blushed.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes humorously and said, "She's babbling. She must really like you, Eriol. Nice to meet you. If you'll just follow me this way, I'll take you to your seats."  
  
Sakura led the two to a table, where Eriol said, "Sup, Syaoran! What are you doing here?"  
  
Syaoran looked up from his dessert, and said flatly, "Having dinner."  
  
"You could've told me you were here. Then we would've gone somewhere else," Eriol joked and winked at Tomoyo and Sakura.  
  
"You two know each other?" Syaoran asked, pointing to Eriol and Sakura.  
  
"We just met. She's Tomoyo's friend," Eriol explained.  
  
"Your waiter will be with you shortly," Sakura said, and handed them the menus.  
  
Eriol and Tomoyo took the table next to Syaoran.  
  
"Let me introduce you. This is Syaoran, my roommate. And best friend since who knows when. This is Tomoyo. Touya's group counselor," Eriol introduced.  
  
"Hi," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Mm." Syaoran said, stirring his coffee slightly.  
  
Eriol jabbed Syaoran and he said, "Hi."  
  
"You're interested in Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Syaoran exclaimed.  
  
"Ha! I knew it. Sorry, but she doesn't really go for guys. But I guess you could have a chance…" Tomoyo trailed off.  
  
"I never said I'm interested in her. I don't date," Syaoran replied and scowled.  
  
Tomoyo smiled slightly, thinking, 'Same thing I said. And now here I am with a hot, rich guy.'  
  
"What? Syaoran liking someone? Are pigs flying?" Eriol asked in mock surprise.  
  
Tomoyo burst into laughter, while Syaoran scowled again.  
  
"I'm done with my dinner," Syaoran said.  
  
His waiter came, and Syaoran quickly signed the bill, and left.  
  
On his way out, he nodded at Sakura, jacket slung over his shoulder.  
  
Sakura gave him a smile.  
  
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Meiling was at the computer, punching in her ID number to sign out for work.  
  
"Hi, Syaoran. Remember me? I'm your cousin, Meiling. I followed you after uncle's funeral and I've been living with a guy who I barely know anything about, and two girls my age for the past thirteen years," Meiling mused.  
  
"No…" Meiling said, and said, "Hi, Syaoran. I hope this doesn't come to as shock to you, but do you happen to have a girl cousin named Meiling? That's me!"  
  
"Argh…." Meiling thought aloud, and finished closing out.  
  
She quickly grabbed her purse from the locker room, and left the gym, outside in the night air.   
  
It was 8 o clock, she was hungry.  
  
"I'll have to cook up some mac and cheese for myself," Meiling thought aloud.  
  
She crossed the street, passing in front of the restaurant Sakura worked.  
  
A familiar figure came out, and Meiling couldn't help herself, "Hey Syaoran!"  
  
The figure turned, raised his eyebrows and said, "Do we know each other?"  
  
"Yes, we do," Meiling took a deep breath.  
  
"And how?" Syaoran asked, fishing in his pocket for his keys.  
  
"This is going to come as a huge shock to you, but most likely you're not going to react," Meiling was breathing quickly from nervousness and excitement.  
  
"What?" Syaoran asked impatiently, finally retrieving his keys from the depths of his pockets.  
  
"It's me, Syaoran. Meiling?"  
  
Syaoran dropped his keys.  
  
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End of Chapter 2. Next Chapter, 'Long lost Cousins'.  
  
A/N: Hey! Well...here's chapter two. I don't have much to say, but please review!! Haha...you'll get more chapters that way. :) 


	3. Long Lost Cousins

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 3: Long Lost Cousins  
  
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What do you mean you're Meiling?" Syaoran asked in a low, dangerous voice.  
  
"I mean what I'm mean. I'm Li Meiling. You're freaking cousin. Where's Eriol? I'd like to see how he's changed in the past, oh, thirteen years," Meiling said in spite of herself.  
  
Syaoran's expression didn't change, but he said, "We're going back in, getting some more food, and talking."  
  
Meiling shrugged and following Syaoran back into the restaurant.  
  
"Hi, welcome to--you again! You must really like our food," Sakura grinned at Syaoran.  
  
"Meiling! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be home. And what are you doing with him--?" Sakura asked.  
  
"You two know each other?" Syaoran asked, pointing at Meiling and Sakura.  
  
"Long story. Take us to a private booth, will ya, sis?" Meiling asked, enjoying the way Syaoran's eyebrows shot up at the word 'sis'.  
  
"Okay. Didja know Tomoyo and some guy named Eriol are over on that side? She's actually one a date. One menu?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Really? Eriol…" Meiling trailed wistfully.  
  
"You know him?" Sakura asked, now thoroughly confused.   
  
"Like I said, long story. Yes, one menu."  
  
"Have a nice time," Sakura said, and sat Meiling and Syaoran in a seat, putting the menu in front of Meiling.  
  
"So, 'Meiling', do you have any proof of who you are?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Nothing but the memories I have. Of us. Let's see, remember that time we were young and actually having fun? We were in the pool and you did a dive and your shorts fell off? And lets see. Up until you were nine, from when you were four years old, you got up at four, did extra training all by yourself until six, had breakfast, lessons until 12, two hours of training with your father, more lessons till five, an hour of recreation which you used to play soccer with Eriol, then dinner, homework then sleep," Meiling said triumphantly.  
  
"Wrong," Syaoran said quietly, "It was three hours of training with Father."  
  
Meiling shrugged and said, "Now do you believe me?"  
  
Syaoran abruptly got up and hugged Meiling, who was shocked.  
  
"When did you learn to hug like that?" Meiling said, and felt tears spring to her eyes.  
  
"I'm glad we're back together now. But how did you survive thirteen years in this jungle of a city alone?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I didn't. Right after I lost you on the docks, Tomoyo found me and she took me to the apartment. She had met Yuki, and he took me in with Sakura, who had the time was knocked out. We went to school, graduated from the local college, and we've been working since," Meiling explained, and added, "You?"  
  
Syaoran got a hard look on his face and said, "I live with Eriol and this guy named Touya in an apartment. We get paid pretty well on our job."  
  
Meiling didn't press any further, but said, "It must really pay well for you to be driving around a Lexus. Especially an SUV. LX 400"  
  
"Yeah. What do you want for dinner?"  
  
"Anything will do. So, how do you know Sakura?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Uh, I saw her at the gym. She seems pretty nice. And I guess I'll be seeing her around a lot, since you, her and Eriol's girlfriend live together," Syaoran said casually.  
  
"Mm. Ooh, can I order this? Steak?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Sure. Eat the lobster fettuccini, you look too skinny."  
  
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"I had a nice time," Tomoyo said timidly, as Eriol walked her to his car.  
  
"Me too. You're an excellent conversationalist," Eriol said, and smiled at Tomoyo.  
  
She blushed and returned the smile, and Eriol said, "You want me to drive you home?"  
  
"Um, you can just drive me to the corner of 8th street and Hojashi Avenue. My apartment's close from there," Tomoyo said.  
  
"All right."  
  
Eriol easily steered the car to the streets Tomoyo had pointed out, and Tomoyo unbuckled her seatbelt to let herself out.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Eriol asked.  
  
Tomoyo smiled and replied, "I'll be fine. I'll see you later."  
  
"I'll call you," Eriol said.  
  
Tomoyo blushed again and quickly left the car, walking towards the direction of the apartment building.  
  
Eriol smiled at the back of her figure, then zoomed off into the night.  
  
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"So this is where you live?" Syaoran asked distastefully at the run down apartment building.  
  
"It only looks like that on the outside," Meiling reprimanded.  
  
She unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the Lexus.  
  
"You wanna come in?" Meiling offered.  
  
"Sure. I'm curious to see where you've lived for thirteen years. So you're 22 now, right?" Syaoran asked, turning off the engine of the car and getting out.  
  
"Yeah. You?" Meiling led Syaoran into the apartment building and started climbing the endless stairs.  
  
"Twenty three. Are you dating anyone?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Nope. You?"  
  
"Do I look like I would? Where is this damn apartment anyway?" Syaoran asked, following Meiling as they continually climbed up.  
  
"Twenty second floor. You get used to it once you climb it three times a day. Good exercise," Meiling replied.  
  
They finally reached it, and opened the door.  
  
Tomoyo was already inside, lying on the couch with a pair of bunny slippers on and worn pajamas.  
  
"Augh! Who did you bring?" Tomoyo asked, leaping up.  
  
"My long lost cousin, Syaoran. Remember my cousin? Who I lost thirteen years ago? It's him. And what a coinkidink, his best friend just so happens to be Eriol," Meiling introduced.  
  
"We already met. But, hi. Excuse the appearance," Tomoyo said, and reached out to shake Syaoran's hand.  
  
"Eriol's a lucky guy to catch a lady like you," Syaoran said. "Big change from the sluts he brings home," he added under his breath.  
  
"So this is where I live. We redecorated it a couple years ago to add some color. We all sleep in the master bedroom with Yuki, and have a nice happy life," Meiling said.  
  
"Yuki?"  
  
"Yeah. He's the guy I told you about. I don't think he's home now. He comes home in the morning, about," Meiling said.  
  
"Is he some kind of drug addict? Drunk? Does he ever touch you guys?" Syaoran demanded.  
  
Tomoyo laughed, "No! Yuki's the most gentle guy you've ever met. He doesn't talk, though. And he's bald. And super pale."  
  
Syaoran's mind flashed to this morning, when he had bumped into a pale, white man.  
  
'Couldn't be,' Syaoran thought, and diminished the notion.   
  
"Well, I guess you should be going, now. Here's my phone number. Call me sometime. Maybe we can catch up on the lost years with some coffee. And maybe I'll meet Eriol and your roommate. Maybe I'll drop by your apartment," Meiling said, and handed Syaoran a scrap of paper with digits scribbled on it.  
  
Syaoran asked casually, "Have you contacted Yelan or your mom?"  
  
"Yelan who?" Meiling asked.  
  
"My mom," Syaoran said.  
  
"Oh. No. I haven't. This is kinda sad, but I've sort of moved on in my life. I don't think about them anymore," Meiling said curtly.  
  
"All right. Me too. Just asking," Syaoran said, "I'll be leaving. Nice to meet you again, Tomoyo."  
  
"Bye!" Tomoyo replied, and waved.  
  
Syaoran left the apartment building, and Meiling sat down on the couch with Tomoyo.  
  
"What a surprise. I never expected him to be your cousin," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I know! I can't believe I actually met up with him," Meiling said happily.  
  
"You're lucky," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Indeed I am. So how'd the date with Eriol go? Last time I saw him, he had purplish hair, round glasses and pale-ish skin," Meiling said.  
  
"Same. The round glasses kind of make him look rather hot," Tomoyo said and giggled.  
  
"You really like him?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Yeah," Tomoyo said sincerely, "Every time I see him, I get this weird feeling. Like tingling all over my body."  
  
"Sounds like love to me!"  
  
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"Hello? Eriol? Guess who I just met. Meiling! Yes, my cousin Meiling! And she's living with the hostess Sakura and your date Tomoyo," Syaoran said on his cell phone.  
  
"Seriously? That's big coincidence. Don't you like Tomoyo? I've never met any girl like her," Eriol said.  
  
"I can tell. Where are you right now?" Syaoran asked, coasting through the streets.  
  
"Home. What time is it?"  
  
"Like ten. I'm going over to the Noshiko gang's headquarters to do some investigating. I got a new assignment to kidnap one of their computer technicians. You heard about the whole disc thingy, right?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah. Listen. I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. We came to Tokyo in your father's honor. Haven't we served him long enough? Why can't we go back to Hong Kong to resume our life/" Eriol said.  
  
"I don't know. It started out like that…but…it's not that easy. We can't go back to Hong Kong. Everyone thinks we're dead. Father's dead. I have nothing back there. Why not just continue this life? I mean, so far we haven't done much sinful things except deliver drugs. We haven't used them, we don't murder people. It's just a normal job as a delivery boy," Syaoran said.  
  
"So are you saying we're just going stay here?"  
  
"Yeah, if that's fine with you."  
  
"Fine with me. I just don't think this is like you," Eriol said.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Meiling's here, let's just live a quiet life. After Tsukiro passes away, Touya will take his place. Then, we can quit, find regular jobs and live a regular life. Listen, I gotta go. I'm entering their territory, and the phones might not be secure. Talk to you later," Syaoran said, and snapped his cell phone shut.  
  
He parked his car a good distance away from the building he had been in earlier that morning.  
  
Syaoran crept into the quiet, abandoned building.  
  
In the center of it, there was a group of people waiting.  
  
A hole in the building shone in moonlight, and Syaoran settled down behind broken down crates, hidden safely in the darkness, and watched the three or four people wait.  
  
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It was already 11 pm, when Sakura left the darkened restaurant.  
  
She head out onto the sidewalks, beginning the journey home, when she spotted a familiar figure.  
  
"Yuki!" Sakura whispered under her breath, and stared in amazement.  
  
It was the first time she had ever seen him outside, and he looked pretty odd, wearing a black suit, black hat and dark sunglasses.  
  
He was also gripping a black briefcase in his hands that seemed to almost reflect the bright moonlight.  
  
In the darkness of the night, he seemed to be glowing from inside, but it was actually the paleness of his skin.  
  
Sakura quickly ducked behind a bush, and watched with her eyes Yuki walking quickly.  
  
"I'm going to follow him," Sakura whispered to herself.  
  
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And indeed, Sakura did follow him.  
  
All through the streets, until Yuki came to a run down building.  
  
Sakura quizzically followed Yuki into the building, making sure her shoes didn't crack the dry branches scattered on the floor.  
  
Yuki came into the center of the building, which looked like a factory.  
  
The building was empty except for a group of people waiting in the middle, and crates strewn around the place.  
  
Sakura hid behind the door, watching Yuki sit on a crate in the center of the group, and pull out a laptop from his briefcase.   
  
Yuki expertly turned on the laptop and behind to type away, and extracted a disc.   
  
Sakura watched in wonder as Yuki continued his work, entering the disc inside the laptop, and continuing to type, type, type away.  
  
"Is the formula done?" a voice asked within the group, and Yuki nodded.  
  
He was looking very frail, sitting in the moonlight with his dark glasses, clothes and hat.  
  
"I've heard that the Tsukiro group wants our formula. We need to watch out with that. We need it in safe keeping. So let's put the formula to work starting tomorrow," the same voice said.  
  
'Formula? Tsukiro group? DRUG GANGS!' Sakura's brain alerted.  
  
Sakura stumbled out of the building back outside in shock.  
  
Yuki? No way. Part of a drug gang?   
  
Absolutely ludicrous.   
  
Sakura quickly left the building area, walking as quickly as she could, away.  
  
Away from what Yuki might've been doing to care for her and her two 'sisters', away from drugs, gangs, murders, pain.  
  
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Syaoran sighed with impatience as he continued to watch the man type away.  
  
This was all he needed.  
  
Syaoran quickly took a mental photograph of the man sitting on the crate, and stealthily left the building.  
  
'Strange. Meiling's description of Yuki seems to fit this man. But it's not possible, is it? I mean, who knows if this guy is bald? He's wearing a hat,' Syaoran's brain said.  
  
"Probably," Syaoran said to himself.  
  
He quickly got into his Lexus and started to slowly drive down the deserted streets, when he was suddenly aware of a frightened shriek.  
  
Syaoran quickly u-turned and headed towards the sound.  
  
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Sakura screamed for help, but one of the guys roughly covered Sakura's mouth.  
  
"Well, well, well. What have we here? A little treat for all of us, I daresay," the leader of the bullies said.  
  
"MMm!" Sakura said, muffled.  
  
Sakura had stumbled into an alley, where a group of chain smoking guys had captured her.  
  
"Tie her up," the leader said.  
  
He was the smallest of the group, but he had the most scars and had a look of power in his eyes.  
  
The other guys were sluggish and stupid, mostly huge but muscular.  
  
One of then got out a roll of duct tape and roughly taped Sakura's thin wrists together.  
  
He was breathing down on Sakura's face, filling her senses with the unpleasant smell of smoke.  
  
Sakura coughed and helplessly tried to kick the man who had gotten her.  
  
The leader walked towards her and lifted her face up, and blew a ring of smoke at her, making Sakura cough even harder.  
  
"Leave her alone," came a bored voice from the entrance of the alley.  
  
"Who are you?" the guy asked, and Sakura's savior smirked, "You don't want to know. Just let her go, and I'll refrain from beating the snot out of you five bastards."  
  
"What, you think you can beat us? Five against one?" the leader asked.  
  
He let go of Sakura's chin, and walked towards the man who had stepped in.  
  
Sakura craned her neck to see who had saved her, but she couldn't see his face in the darkness.  
  
The man suddenly let a blow go from his foot to the leader's head, instantly knocking him out.  
  
The four other big men drew back.  
  
"Yeah, come on. Bring it on," the man taunted.  
  
It all happened at once.  
  
The four men ran towards the other man, who reflexively ran towards Sakura, and so the four men collided with each other.  
  
The man quickly cut the duct tape from Sakura's wrist and said, "Run!"  
  
He grabbed her wrist and they ran, stepping over the fallen bodies.  
  
The man stuffed Sakura into the passenger's seat and seated himself behind the wheel and quickly drove off.  
  
"Fuck, I hate running from fights," Syaoran muttered to himself.  
  
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran slowly parked on the sidewalk, and flicked the car light on.  
  
"You!" they said in unison.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment, and Sakura managed to say, "We've been seeing each other a lot for just one day."  
  
"Indeed," Syaoran said.  
  
"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Sakura asked, looking at Syaoran's body, concerned.  
  
Looking at him, Sakura was reminded of the comment she had said to him earlier--'nice abs!'  
  
"I'm fine. Are you? Did they do anything to you?"  
  
"No. Thank goodness you showed up on time. Who knows what they could've done," Sakura said.  
  
"I know. What are you doing out so late? And walking?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I just got off from work. And I don't have a car so I usually ride a bike--oh!" Sakura clapped her hand over her mouth.  
  
"What's wrong?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I left my bike at work. Could you just drive me there? I'll ride myself home," Sakura said.  
  
"Sure, but I'll do more than that. Why don't you just let me drive you home? I can put the bike in the trunk," Syaoran said, and gestured to the back of the car.  
  
Sakura first noticed Syaoran's car.  
  
It was a gold Lexus, a box-like SUV which was roomy, and a sign of Syaoran's money.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura said. Her stomach grumbled suddenly, and Sakura gave Syaoran an apologetic look, "I'm a bit hungry."  
  
"Why don't we get a burger from McDonald's or something? I mean, you live with Tomoyo and Meiling right?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura looked surprised and said, "How'd you know?"  
  
"I'll explain. Let me treat you to a snack, first. A Big Mac?"  
  
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Sakura and Syaoran sat in the car, munching on food, silently.  
  
They had parked in the parking lot of McDonalds, eating food in the car rather than going into the fast food restaurant.  
  
"So how do you know Tomoyo and Meiling?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Well, it's rather complicated. I'm Meiling's long lost cousin. I don't know if she's ever told you that. And Eriol's my best friend, and he's going out with Tomoyo. I live with Eriol and another guy named Touya," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura blinked at the words, "Touya."  
  
"Touya?" Sakura asked, and searched her brain for some recognition.  
  
"Yeah. You know a guy named Touya?"  
  
"No…no, I don't," Sakura said.  
  
"Anyways, I better take you home. It's already midnight," Syaoran said.  
  
"We have to get my bike first, though," Sakura said.  
  
"Right. Let's go get it," Syaoran said.  
  
They left the car and locked it, and walked over to the side of the building, where the two restaurants' walls faced each other.  
  
Sakura quickly spun the lock on her bike, and clicked it open.  
  
Syaoran heaved the bike out of the rack and easily carried it back to car.  
  
"Open the trunk," Syaoran directed, and Sakura quickly obeyed.  
  
The spacious trunk easily carried the woman's bike, and Sakura and Syaoran went back to the front to drive home.  
  
Syaoran drove Sakura home, easily finding the way from Meiling's past directions.  
  
"I'll walk the bike up," Syaoran said, and Sakura got out of the car.  
  
He carried the bike back to the foyer of the apartment building, where Sakura again locked it in a bike rack.  
  
"Well, thank you so much for everything. For saving me, for buying me some food, and for driving me home," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. Can you find your way back up?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Of course. Bye…and I guess I'll see you around," Sakura said.  
  
"Okay. Bye," Syaoran said.   
  
He watched Sakura climb the stairs until he couldn't see her anymore, then turned and left for home.  
  
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"Where were you, man?" Eriol asked when Syaoran came in.  
  
"I dropped Sakura home after I found her tied down by some thugs," Syaoran replied coolly.  
  
Eriol laughed and said, "Things are going well with her, right?"  
  
"I don't know what you mean," Syaoran said, and rummaged around in the kitchen for a drink.  
  
"You know damn well what I mean. You like Sakura, don't you? I can tell, even if you've just met her," Eriol said.  
  
"Shut up," Syaoran rolled his eyes and slammed the fridge door when he found a cold beer.  
  
Syaoran plopped down on the couch and flipped on the television, where there was a soccer game going on.  
  
Syaoran opened the can of beer, letting the air hiss out, and took a long swig from it.  
  
He put the drink down on the coffee table, and asked Eriol, "Where's Touya?"  
  
"I'm not too sure. So did you get any info?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Not a lot. I saw the disc, and I saw the guy who created it. My plan is still in the planning stages," Syaoran said.  
  
"Whatever. I'm taking a shower then going to bed. It's already one, man. When are you going to sleep?" Eriol asked.  
  
"When I feel like it. Oh, did I tell you I met Meiling?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"What?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Yeah. It turns out she works down at the gym. She lives with Tomoyo and Sakura in an apartment, and has been living with them for the past thirteen years," Syaoran explained.  
  
"Wow. Well, I guess I'll have to go meet her sometime," Eriol said.  
  
"All right," Syaoran stretched and yawned, "On the other hand, I'm going to sleep right now."  
  
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Sakura was brushing her teeth, while Meiling and Tomoyo were already in bed.  
  
"So, tell us what happened with my cousin," Meiling said.  
  
Sakura blushed, "Nothing happened."  
  
She spit out her toothpaste and gargled water quickly.  
  
"Uh uh, you're gargling. That means something's up," Meiling said deviously.  
  
Sakura quickly spat and laughed, "Shut up! Nothing happened! Okay, okay. I was walking home, and then I bumped into some thugs. Suddenly Syaoran showed up and beat the crap out of them, ran, bought me a burger and took me home. That's all."  
  
"Hmm…" Tomoyo scrutinized Sakura, "Do you like him?"  
  
"He's nice. And he knows you guys. That's nice," Sakura said.  
  
"Nice?"  
  
"Whatever. I'm going to bed," Sakura said.  
  
Sakura paused, wondering if she should tell them about what she had seen with Yuki.  
  
'Nah.'  
  
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It was already 11 on Saturday morning when Sakura woke up.  
  
"Mmm," Sakura said, and stretched out her arms.  
  
Tomoyo was sitting on the empty bed, holding their cordless phone and looking pleased.  
  
Meiling was perching next to her, and said, "Tell her what happened."  
  
Tomoyo smiled broadly and said, "Eriol called. He wants to see me tonight."  
  
"Ooh, second date. You guys must be getting serious," Sakura teased.  
  
She got up and went to the bathroom and started brushing her teeth.  
  
"Are you guys going to work?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Nuh uh. I'm taking a break today," Sakura said.  
  
"You?" Meiling asked Tomoyo.  
  
"Nope. We have some cleaning to do today," Tomoyo said and gestured around the house.  
  
"Oh yeah. Fall cleaning. Almost November," Meiling said, "I'm not working today either. Hey, want me to call Syaoran and Eriol and see if they can come help us wash some windows?"   
  
"No!" Tomoyo exclaimed, "I don't want Eriol to see me all grungy in my old overalls!"  
  
"Fine," Meiling said, "Just a suggestion."  
  
"Well, how about you two get started on the stuff and I go grocery shopping? We're out of food," Sakura called from the kitchen.  
  
"No fair! Why do you get to take the shopping?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Because she saves the most money. We DON'T need organic ketchup that costs 8 dollars," Tomoyo reminded Meiling.  
  
"It was healthy!" Meiling protested, then waved her hands in defeat, "Fine. You go pick out some food."  
  
"All right. Actually, can we just move cleaning to next week? I need to go to the gym and work out a little, then I gotta go grocery shopping then get my schedule for next week at the restaurant, and then I need to come home and take shower," Sakura said.  
  
"Boy, you got an excuse for everything, doncha?" Tomoyo teased, "Fine. Cleaning next week. No excuses. I've got to go shopping for tonight."  
  
"I'll go to the gym with you," Meiling said, "As soon as I get some breakfast."  
  
"Okay. Boy, the weather's looking good," Sakura commented, looking out the window.  
  
The leaves were just barely turning brown in the late October weather. The wind looked cool, and most people were decked out in jeans and sweaters rather than skirts and shirts.  
  
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At the gym, Sakura and Meiling were already jogging on a machine, talking to each other.  
  
"Ooh, there's Syaoran. He comes in like everyday, I think," Meiling said.  
  
She waved her cousin over, who nodded and walked over to them.  
  
"What's up?" Meiling asked Syaoran.  
  
"I'm not going to get used to seeing you at random like this," Syaoran said.  
  
"Hi," Sakura said shyly.  
  
Syaoran nodded to her and said, "Hi."  
  
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After working out, Meiling went home to take a shower and go shopping with Tomoyo.  
  
Sakura was left alone with Syaoran, who was working on the pull up bar.  
  
"How many can you do?" Sakura asked curiously.  
  
"Only fifty at a time," Syaoran replied.  
  
Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out--the most she had done was ten.  
  
"You work out a lot, don't you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Every day," Syaoran grunted.  
  
Sakura continued pedaling on the stationary bicycle she was at, and looked at her watch, "Oh. I need to go to the grocery for some shopping. I guess I'll see you later."  
  
Syaoran looked up and said, "If you give me ten minutes I'll go with you. I need to buy some stuff, too."  
  
"All right."  
  
Sakura sat down on a bench near the entrance of the gym and watched as Syaoran wiped his sweating face with a towel.  
  
He got up and headed towards the men's locker room.  
  
Sakura hummed a soft tune as she waited, and pretty soon Syaoran came out, looking refreshed.  
  
"Did you take a shower?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I just rinsed off," Syaoran said.  
  
"Oh. Are you ready to go?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yeah. Did you bring your bike again?"   
  
"No. I walked here," Sakura replied.  
  
"We can take my car."  
  
Syaoran led Sakura to another car, which was different.  
  
It was a sleek silver Porsche, which reminded Sakura of James Bond.  
  
"Nice car," Sakura said and ran her hand lightly over the polished surface.  
  
Syaoran grunted again in response and got in.  
  
Sakura got in, strapped herself in and Syaoran quickly drove to the nearest supermarket.  
  
They both got shopping carts and started in the aisles.  
  
"Do you have a list?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I think. Eriol's cooking dinner for Tomoyo--wonder how that'll turn out--, and he wanted me to get some stuff for him," Syaoran said as he fished in his pocket for a scrap of paper.  
  
He got it out and read, "Salmon slices. Does she like fish?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
"Yeah. At least, I think she does. We don't really eat a lot of it," Sakura said.  
  
Their carts were side by side and slowly rolling along as Sakura picked up a loaf of bread.  
  
"I need milk," Syaoran murmured.  
  
"Over there," Sakura pointed out.  
  
They guided the shopping carts over to the dairy aisle where Sakura picked out a carton of eggs.  
  
Syaoran picked one and threw it into his cart and randomly picked a gallon of milk.  
  
Sakura laughed and said, "First, check that none of the eggs in your carton are broken. And make sure they're the right size and grade. Next, they have different types of milk. Always check the expiration date and make sure it's the latest one."  
  
Syaoran chuckled and said, "I guess I don't know much about food, do I?"  
  
"Not a lot," Sakura smiled.  
  
Pretty soon, they were done with all of their shopping.  
  
They stood in the line as Sakura flipped through a magazine.  
  
"Hmm," Sakura said thoughtfully.  
  
"What?" Syaoran peered over from behind her at the magazine article.  
  
Sakura couldn't help but breathe in his scent, and said, "The article. I better copy it down for Tomoyo or at least memorize it."  
  
"The Date Rate," Syaoran read, "How to know if your date means anything. Date number one: he thinks you're hot. Date number two: He's at least interested in you. You should've held hands by now. Date number three: It's getting serious. You should've kissed by now. Date number four: You should've made out at least once. It's REALLY getting serious. Expect some more moves."  
  
Syaoran shook his head and commented, "That's so stupid. I mean, each relationship has its own steps and levels."  
  
"So true," Sakura agreed.  
  
She turned back to the checkout stand and started loading her food onto the moving belt.  
  
Everything was checked out and rung up, when the grocery girl told Sakura, "It'll be thirty three dollars and forty nine cents."  
  
Sakura quickly got out her wallet, and opened up the part where the bills were.  
  
It was empty.  
  
"Oh," Sakura said, embarrassed, "Darn it. I forget to get the grocery money from Tomoyo."  
  
"Charge it on this," Syaoran got out his credit card and handed it to the grocery girl.  
  
"No, you couldn't do that!" Sakura protested, but it was too late.  
  
"Sign here," the girl said and Syaoran quickly jotted his signature.  
  
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As Sakura and Syaoran walked out of the grocery store, Sakura thanked, "Thank you SO much, Syaoran. You've helped me so much I can't even know how to start repaying you."  
  
Syaoran let out a small smile and said, "You don't have to. I mean, just think of it as a favor from your big brother."  
  
Sakura suddenly had a brief flashback-- "I'm your big brother!" a low voice said to her.  
  
"Sakura?" Syaoran asked, concerned when Sakura had stopped rolling her cart and having a glazed look in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, nothing. I'm all right. Just thinking," Sakura said.  
  
"So tell me about you. I've told you my whole life story and now your turn," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura had a dreaded sinking feeling in her stomach.  
  
"Not much to my life," Sakura said quickly, "I've grown up with Meiling and Tomoyo and Yuki. That's basically it."  
  
"You don't have a mother or father?" Syaoran asked quizzically.  
  
Sakura paused, "None that I can remember."  
  
"Oh," Syaoran didn't press any further.  
  
"Want me to drop you home?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Actually, could you take me to the restaurant? I need to get my schedule for next week."  
  
"All right," Syaoran started loading the paper bags filled with food into the backseat of the Porsche.   
  
"Let's go," Syaoran said and turned on the engine.  
  
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End of Chapter 3. Next chapter, 'Dates and Plans'.  
  
A/N: Hey! Review!! Haha. Um, you really should check out my profile. I update it a LOT, and I put up when the next chapter's coming, etc. So bookmark my profile page!! And review me with your e-mail address if you want me to e-mail you when i update!! ^_~ review!!! 


	4. Dates and Plans

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 4: Dates and Plans  
  
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"Tomoyo!" Meiling hollered into the empty hallway, "You're going to be late!"  
  
Tomoyo quickly came out of the bathroom.  
  
"Oh, Tomoyo, you look so beautiful," Sakura said sincerely.  
  
"Really? It's kind of my first 'official' date with Eriol, since I actually was prepared for this one. How do I look?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
She had let her long purplish hair down, and was wearing a silky skirt that had violets printed on them. She also wore a cute little blouse that matched her skirt and matching high heels.  
  
"What time is he picking you up?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Actually, I'm going to meet him down at the corner of the street. I don't really want him to know where I live. No offense you guys, but he's so rich I feel so…little, compared to him. I mean, I used to live like him," Tomoyo said.  
  
"It's all right. We understand. Just be careful out there," Meiling said.  
  
"Okay. I'm going to head out now," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Bye!" Sakura waved off Tomoyo, who promptly left.  
  
Tomoyo quickly walked down the twenty two flights of stairs down to the lobby, where she stepped out of the building and headed towards the corner where Eriol had dropped her off the night before.  
  
She patiently waited for several minutes, until it was dark and promptly three minutes before seven.  
  
"Sorry I'm late. Were you waiting long?" Eriol apologized.  
  
And like a true gentleman, he got out of the car, walked over and opened the door for Tomoyo.  
  
"Oh, no. It's okay. I was early. So, what are we doing tonight?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Well, believe it or not, I cooked a whole dinner for you with four courses. I thought after that maybe I could walk you home. It's a beautiful night, and I don't want to keep you out too late."  
  
"That sounds perfect to me. What are we having?" Tomoyo asked as Eriol started the car.  
  
"That's for me to know and you to find out," Eriol grinned.  
  
"All right."  
  
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Eriol led Tomoyo to the entrance of the apartment.  
  
"Here we are at my house. Hopefully, Touya and Syaoran will stay out of our way."  
  
"That's fine," Tomoyo said.  
  
Eriol quickly opened the door with flourish and let Tomoyo walk in it.  
  
"Wow. It's an awesome apartment," Tomoyo said, mouth agape.  
  
It might not have seemed like much of an apartment to Syaoran, Eriol or Touya, but in another's eyes, the apartment was amazing.  
  
It had the latest styles, with a stainless steel kitchen, and there was a huge big screen TV in the living room, where there were accented black leather sofas and a beautiful coffee table.  
  
"I love this place," Tomoyo said.  
  
"First, let's have something to drink and an appetizer. Actually, I've paid Touya some money to be our 'waiter'," Eriol confided.  
  
Tomoyo laughed and said, "All right. Let's have something to eat."  
  
Eriol led Tomoyo to a small bar that had a rosy glow from candles lit around.  
  
"Hey, Touya. Nice outfit," Eriol smirked at the sight of a scowling, tall man in a white shirt, black tie and cummerbund.   
  
Touya glared at Eriol, and Tomoyo said, "Hi Touya. Nice to see you again."  
  
Touya 'humphed' at that, and said, "What do you want to drink?"  
  
"Get out the appetizer. I'll have a martini, shaken, not stirred, and two speared olives," Eriol said.  
  
"Oh. I'll just have a soda. You got any cola?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Yeah. Let me get the appetizer first," Touya said resentfully and walked out of the bar.  
  
"That's hilarious," Tomoyo said to Eriol, "Touya as a play-waiter for us? You're definitely one of a kind."  
  
"No. You're one of a kind," Eriol said seriously, looking into Tomoyo's eyes.  
  
She blushed and turned away and said, "He's back."  
  
Touya presented a silver platter with small crackers with cheese, ham and small pieces of parsley on top.  
  
He handed Tomoyo her drink in a wine goblet with a small straw and umbrella.  
  
Touya set off to make Eriol's drink and gave it to him.  
  
"Cheers. To us," Eriol said and raised his glass.  
  
Tomoyo raised hers and they clinked them together, and she repeated, "To us."  
  
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Tomoyo quickly finished her cake and said, "Mmm. That was delicious. Did you bake it?"  
  
Eriol laughed and said, "No. I bought it at the French bakery. Are you done?"  
  
Tomoyo nodded and handed her plate to Eriol.  
  
He took it and said, "Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the dishes. Touya put his foot down when I asked him to be our busboy, too."  
  
Tomoyo giggled and said, "Then I'll do them for you."  
  
"No, I couldn't. I'll just leave them for Syaoran. Come on. I'll walk you home. I don't want to keep you out too late," Eriol said.  
  
"All right. But one last time--are you SURE you don't want free dishwashing help?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I'm sure," Eriol said and chuckled.  
  
They walked out to the foyer where Eriol handed Tomoyo her coat, and she put it on.  
  
Eriol put on his own, warm, expensive-looking coat and they stepped out of the apartment.  
  
They made their way down to the lobby and out the door, where they were quickly greeted with a cool gust of wind.  
  
"Wow, it's cold for late October," Tomoyo commented.  
  
"I know. It's so beautiful in the city. And I hope this doesn't sound corny or anything, but it looks even more beautiful since I have someone to share it with," Eriol said warmly.  
  
Tomoyo blushed, and said, "Thank you."  
  
They strolled along the sidewalk, slowly making their way down to the corner where Eriol had dropped her off and picked her up.  
  
Eriol slipped his hand into Tomoyo's, making her inwardly smile in pleasure.  
  
"So when are you actually going to let me take you to the front door of your house?" Eriol asked.  
  
Tomoyo blushed again, "I'm sorry. It's just that--it's just that you're my…you're my first boyfriend. I wouldn't feel very comfortable. You can come whenever I'm ready."  
  
"I'm fine with that," Eriol said.  
  
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A black limousine was cruising along the streets of Tokyo, when the woman in the black snapped to the chauffeur, "Slow down."  
  
The man obeyed and slowed down the large car, rolling aside the sidewalk.  
  
The woman inside the car narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized a young girl with carefree hair and a purple skirt was walking slowly along the sidewalk, holding hands with a handsome, tall man.  
  
"Stop the car," the woman ordered, and the chauffeur complied, and quickly stopped the car right next to the sidewalk, several feet in front of the walking couple.  
  
The woman got out, and headed towards the two.  
  
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Tomoyo paused to smile at Eriol, and when she looked back to the front, an angry woman was standing in front of them, hands on her hips, glaring at her.  
  
The woman seemed familiar…  
  
"Hello," Tomoyo smiled at the woman, and Eriol and her turned to step around the woman, when the woman sent a flying slap at Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo gasped, and clutched her left cheek with her hand.  
  
Tomoyo narrowed her eyes, found some recognition and then said calmly, "Hello, Sonomi."  
  
The woman smirked and said, "Can't believe it took you that long to recognize your mother."  
  
"I'm sorry, but I don't recall living with a mother for the past thirteen years," Tomoyo shot back.  
  
"I gave birth to you," the woman said, "Now get in the car and go home with me. You're coming back to live with me and take over the business. I can't believe it took me this long to find you."  
  
Tomoyo replied, "I'm not going with you. I'm not going to have anything to do with you. Tomoyo Daidouji, daughter of Sonomi Daidouji, IS officially dead. Goodbye, Sonomi."  
  
Tomoyo and Eriol stepped around the bristling woman.  
  
When she rose her hand to strike again, Eriol caught her arm roughly and twisted it.  
  
"Don't you dare, lady," Eriol growled.  
  
The woman glared indignantly and shouted to Tomoyo, "This isn't over! I will find you again!"  
  
Tomoyo stared ahead at the sidewalk and continued walking.  
  
After she heard the limousine leaving, Tomoyo burst into tears.  
  
She sobbed, "I can't believe its her. After all these years…"  
  
Eriol held Tomoyo in his arms and gently rubbed her back, soothing her.  
  
"There, there. She's not going to bother you again, not if you're my girl."  
  
Tomoyo looked up at Eriol and said, "I'm so sorry. We were having a great time, and she ruined it all, and I just feel hor--"  
  
Eriol leaned forward and gently kissed Tomoyo on the lips, cutting her off.  
  
"Shhh…" Eriol said softly.  
  
Tomoyo returned the kiss, and blushed when it was over.  
  
"I guess I got to go. Thank you so much for the dinner. Bye!" Tomoyo exclaimed as she quickly walked away, trying to hide the heat that had reddened her face.  
  
"I'll call you," Eriol called to her back, "I really will!"  
  
Tomoyo turned back and laughed, and waved to him.  
  
Eriol watched Tomoyo walk off until she was only a speck in the horizon.  
  
He sighed happily, and turned to walk back home.  
  
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One month later…  
  
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"I'm home! Officially! For one whole month! Of winter break!" Sakura announced happily.  
  
"Well, actually from school. I'm not working the school for a month. I still have to work at the restaurant," Sakura admitted to herself when she realized she was talking to an empty home.  
  
"Yuki? Tomoyo? Meiling?" Sakura asked.  
  
Sakura pouted, "Hey, where'd they go?"  
  
Then she remembered that Meiling was still working at the gym, and Tomoyo had a late anger management session. And Yuki was who-knows-where.  
  
For the past month, they had barely seen Yuki.  
  
They knew he came and go, and every time they came they usually missed him.  
  
Occasionally they saw him reading a book or washing dishes, but other than that, he was scarcely around.  
  
Could it have been what Sakura had seen that fateful night?  
  
'Nah, probably not,' Sakura thought.  
  
Or maybe it was just that the three girls weren't home as much, not that they had Eriol and Syaoran to hang out with.  
  
And no, Sakura hadn't seen the 'handsome, angry roommate' of Syaoran's and Eriol's, what was his name again, oh yeah, Touya.  
  
Her mind lingered on the name again, but Sakura shook it off.  
  
"I need to go to work," Sakura remembered, and quickly ran to her room to change into her uniform.  
  
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"So, this concludes today's session. I hope to see you all next month!" Tomoyo said pleasantly to the group.  
  
She turned away and caught Touya dozing, and gently prodded him.  
  
"Augh!" he woke up and took a martial arts stance.  
  
"Relax, Touya. You were napping like a little baby. The sessions over. I hope you had a nice time and learned everything," Eriol said mockingly.  
  
Touya rolled his eyes and yawned, "I didn't get much sleep last night."  
  
"So, Tomoyo. Are you going home right away?" Eriol asked Tomoyo.  
  
"Yes, I am. I already went to the XOXO building and turned in my papers. So I have the night free," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Cool. You want some dinner? Or how about we all eat together? We could call up Syaoran, Sakura and Meiling. What about you, Touya?" Eriol asked.  
  
"No, I mean, I gotta go home and…take a bath," Touya said lamely.  
  
"He doesn't want to go," Eriol said to Tomoyo, and said, "His loss. So how about it?"  
  
"Sure! I think Sakura's working, but she could probably take an hour off for break," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I'll call Syaoran. You call Meiling and Sakura," Eriol said.  
  
He took out his cell phone and tossed it to Tomoyo, and took out another one and speed dialed Syaoran.  
  
"Why do you need two cell phones?" Tomoyo asked Eriol quizzically as she waited for Meiling to pick up.  
  
"A spare one in case my other one runs out of batteries," Eriol said.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, and quickly said, "Meiling? Yeah! How about dinner? You, me, Eriol, Sakura and Syaoran? It's good? All right. How about Eriol and I pick you up at six thirty? It's already five, yeah. Okay. We'll pick you up then."  
  
Tomoyo snapped the cell phone shut, and watched Eriol finish up his call, "All right. Meet you at the King's Garden at six forty five. Why don't you pick up Sakura at her restaurant at six thirty?"  
  
"Oh," Tomoyo said to herself, having forgotten to call Sakura.  
  
"Hello, Sakura? How about dinner at six forty five? Can you make it? Great. Syaoran will pick you up at six thirty. We're going to the King's Garden. Yeah. Okay. All right," Tomoyo hung up again, and handed Eriol the cell phone.  
  
"So we're all set?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Yeah. Let's get there early and reserve a table," Tomoyo said.  
  
She put her arm through the crook of his, and he said, "Let's go, my princess."  
  
Tomoyo laughed shyly, and the left, not bothering to say goodbye to Touya.  
  
Touya rolled his eyes at the retreating couple.  
  
He was going to go home and have a relaxing night, watching television and eating some popcorn.  
  
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Syaoran quickly drove home and ran to the bathroom to take a quick shower before leaving to pick up Sakura.  
  
Was it just him or was he always the one that got to drive her around?  
  
Syaoran turned on the shower and got in.  
  
He quickly set the temperature to his comfort, and shampooed his hair roughly.  
  
He soaped his body, going over his chest and shoulders, and Syaoran grimaced at the sight of the ugly black tattoo on his right shoulder, nearly taking up all the skin.  
  
It was a sign of loyalty to Tsukiro, and Syaoran had neatly kept it hidden from everyone, including Meiling.  
  
He wanted to keep her in the dark about his job, especially since it was so dangerous and all.  
  
Syaoran sighed, and glanced at the clock in the bathroom.  
  
Six fifteen.  
  
"Gotta go!" Syaoran exclaimed.  
  
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"Eriol and Tomoyo reservations? This way," the waitress led the group of five to a large table.  
  
"Your server will be with you shortly," the woman said, reciting the lines Sakura knew by heart.  
  
"It's nice to finally eat at some other restaurant for break," Sakura said, relaxing on the leather chair.  
  
"So what are you going to order?" Eriol asked everyone.  
  
"What do they have?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Chinese food. It tastes bad, in my opinion, compared to 'real' homemade food. But Eriol thinks its okay," Syaoran said.  
  
Their waiter came, a tall, handsome guy in the restaurant's outfit.  
  
"How can I help you?" he asked, and winked at Sakura.  
  
She blushed and looked down, "An iced tea would be fine."  
  
Syaoran shot the waiter a deathly look, and said, "A Sprite®."  
  
The waiter gave a confused look to him and said, "Um, okay. And you guys?"  
  
After the waiter left with all their orders and drinks, Eriol cleared his throat.  
  
"The main reason I wanted to call you guys together was only one reason. Does that make sense?" Eriol asked Tomoyo.  
  
She grinned and said, "No. It doesn't at all."  
  
Eriol smiled and said, "Well, we've known each other for over a month. I'm going out with Tomoyo, and Syaoran and Meiling and related. So we're really close, aren't we?"  
  
The other four people nodded in unison.  
  
"So I was thinking for winter break, we could go up to the mountains. We have a big cabin up in a little village in a ski resort. How about it? Maybe for a couple of weeks to relax," Eriol said.  
  
"That sounds really fun," Meiling said.  
  
"Snow…"Sakura intoned dreamily.  
  
"Skiing," Tomoyo said, nodding in agreement.  
  
"That'd be okay with me," Syaoran said.  
  
"I can take three weeks off. Since I've saved up all my vacations from XOXO for the past three years," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I can take a month off from the gym," Meiling said, "As soon as I ask the manager."  
  
"I'm off from school, and I can take a break from the restaurant," Sakura said.  
  
"So we can all go, right?" Eriol said.  
  
"What about Touya?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"He can go. He won't want to, but he'll go. So I'll call the cabin and make sure it'll be ready for us. Since today's December 8th, how about we leave on the 15th and come back on the 30th? Just in time for New Year's Eve," Eriol suggested.  
  
"That sounds perfect. This is going to be SO fun--oh, what about Yuki!" Sakura said.  
  
"Ohh…" Meiling and Tomoyo said.  
  
"I don't want to leave him alone for Christmas," Sakura said.  
  
"Me too," Meiling agreed.  
  
"I think it'd be okay with him. I mean, it's only two weeks. We can tell him," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Then that's solved. So, I'll call you guys with more details tomorrow or something," Eriol said.  
  
"Snow," Sakura said again, glazing off into dream world, "Fluffy white snow. Snowmen. Snow-women. Not the crappy dirty snow we get here in the city."  
  
"Let's eat!" Meiling said when she saw the waiter coming back with their drinks and food.  
  
"Let's," Tomoyo agreed.  
  
And they dug in.  
  
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After eating, Sakura patted her tummy in happiness, "That was a great dinner."  
  
"Mm," Meiling agreed, sipping on her drink that had been refilled for the sixth time.  
  
The waiter came again with the bill.  
  
"I'll take it," Syaoran said.  
  
"No, we'll pay for it. I mean, you guys are taking us to your snow cabin and everything. We'll foot the bill this time," Sakura argued.  
  
"It's okay. Here," Syaoran handed the waiter his credit card before Sakura could say anything else, and he whisked off.  
  
"So, about the snow cabin. How many rooms are there?" Meiling inquired.  
  
"Unfortunately, only three. It's two stories high, with the three bedrooms on the second floor. On the first floor is the living room with a huge fireplace, and the kitchen and dining room," Eriol said.  
  
"Touya can have his own room and you two can share one. We girls can share the other on," Tomoyo immediately offered.  
  
"Are you sure? Thanks. That'd be the best, especially with Touya's pickiness. Honestly, he needs to get a girlfriend," Eriol shook his head in discontentment.  
  
The waiter came back with the receipt and mints, and the group of five got up to leave.  
  
On the way out, the waiter caught Sakura's arm, who was walking behind with Syaoran.  
  
"I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I get off work in fifteen minutes. Do you want to go catch a movie or something?" the waiter asked.  
  
Sakura blushed and said, "Um…actually…I…"  
  
"Already have a boyfriend," Syaoran said, and glared at the waiter.  
  
The waiter immediately let go of Sakura's arm and took a couple of steps back from Syaoran's look.  
  
"S-sorry," he stuttered and quickly rushed off.  
  
Sakura laughed and said, "Thanks, Syaoran. I didn't know how to let him off. I hate it when guys ask me out."  
  
Syaoran gave Sakura a nod.  
  
"No problem. You looked like you needed some help there," he said.  
  
Sakura gave him a smile and they walked out of the restaurant.  
  
Syaoran casually asked, "So do a lot of people ask you out?"  
  
Sakura giggled bashfully and said, "Unfortunately, yes. Too many people. And I hate turning them down, but I don't date, so…"  
  
"You don't date? Aren't you going to get married?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah. I just have a belief that I should date after I fall in love, not date to see if I fall in love. You know…truly, sincerely, love him with all your heart love. I'm still looking for the right guy."  
  
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Next day…  
  
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"What the hell is going on? I gave you the damn assignment a month ago and you STILL haven't done anything about it!" Tsukiro demanded to Syaoran.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. This is my first assignment and I wanted to do it right. I've been watching them for the past month, and I've figured out who my target it. I've almost got my plan ready, and it'll be ready to be carried out in another month," Syaoran said, wincing at Tsukiro's angry face.  
  
"Do you know what's been happening? The damn Noshiko group's sales have gone up 200 percent! That mean a decrease for OUR sales! They've made 3.6 millions dollars in the past month! All because of that fucking formula. It creates an artificial cocaine powder, which produces faster than normal ones, it's twice as addictive and gives you a longer high and less side effects!" Tsukiro yelled.  
  
"I am aware of that, sir," Syaoran said respectfully.  
  
"Then get your damn ass out of that door and start working!"  
  
"Yes, sir," Syaoran said again and left the room.  
  
He sighed once he got out of the room.  
  
He hadn't been training as hard lately, and taking more time off work to hang out with Eriol, Sakura, Meiling and Tomoyo.   
  
And Tsukiro wouldn't be happy if he heard that the three of them were going off for two weeks off to the mountains.  
  
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Tomoyo and Eriol were on another date that night, and they were in a fancy restaurant, eating their entrees.  
  
"This is really good," Tomoyo smiled at Eriol.  
  
"I know, isn't? I have a surprise for you," Eriol said.  
  
"What is it?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Eriol pulled out a bag, and from it he pulled out a small box.  
  
"Open," Eriol said as he slid the box to Tomoyo.  
  
She untied the bow and opened the box and exclaimed, "Oh! It's a cell phone!"  
  
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm paying for it. Open it."  
  
Tomoyo excitedly opened the cell phone, and on the small screen appeared, "Hi Tomoyo!"  
  
"It's so pretty," Tomoyo said, admiring the small bluish-silver cell phone.  
  
"I know. Do you like it? I already programmed all of my, Syaoran's, your house, and Meiling and Sakura's work places into the phone book and speed dialing," Eriol said.  
  
"Thank you SO much!" Tomoyo said, and leaned forward to give Eriol a kiss.  
  
He blushed slightly, and said, "I'm glad you like it. Now we can call each other a lot more."  
  
"Thank you again," Tomoyo said, and pocketed the cell phone in her purse.  
  
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The next day…  
  
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Syaoran was picking up Sakura and Meiling for another dinner/meeting about their ski trip.  
  
He patiently waited in the car in front of their apartment building and listened to some loud rock music until the girls came down.  
  
Meiling was wearing a short wool skirt and long leggings and a black tee-shirt, while Sakura was wearing a pair of black slacks and dark green shirt that accented her green eyes.  
  
"Come on in. It's cold," Syaoran said.  
  
"Yeah," Meiling complained, "Turn on the heater in your car."  
  
Syaoran had brought the Lexus again, and so they started off.  
  
"Wait--can we stop by the gym first? I need to tell the manager I'm taking three weeks off for Christmas," Meiling said.  
  
"Sure," Syaoran replied, and easily spun the car into the direction of the gym where Meiling worked.  
  
"I'll be out in a jiffy," Meiling said and got out of the car.  
  
Syaoran parked the car on the street and turned off the engine.  
  
"So, are you excited about the trip?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
She smiled and said, "Yeah. I brought paper to take some notes. I'm REALLY excited. Do you know how to ski or snowboard?"  
  
"Both," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura grinned and said, "Then you've got to teach me, 'cause the only sport I know is cheerleading."  
  
Syaoran chuckled, much to his and her surprise, and they waited in the dark car for Meiling to come back.  
  
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Meiling asked the front desk girl that was working that day, "Where's Mr. Shitoki?"  
  
"He's in his office. Do you need to talk to him?" the girl asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'll be going in, okay?" Meiling asked and she quickly walked down the hallway to her boss' office.  
  
Mr. Shitoku was a balding man in his late forties, and apparently divorced and had no life but the gym.  
  
She first knocked on the door and asked, "Mr. Shitoku? Can I come in? I need to talk to you."  
  
From inside, a voice answered, "Yes, yes, Meiling. Come in."  
  
Meiling opened the door and walked in.  
  
She had only started her job a month and a half ago, and it was her first time in her boss' office.  
  
"Sit down," Mr. Shitoku gestured to the couch in the middle of the room.  
  
Meiling obeyed and sat down on the worn leather, and to her surprise, Mr. Shitoku crossed the room and closed the door.  
  
And locked it.  
  
"Um," Meiling said, "I just want to tell you that I'm not going to be able to work for the next two weeks because I'm going away to the mountains."  
  
"Ah yes. You can take your break. Two or three weeks?" Mr. Shitoku asked, and with every word, he walked towards her.  
  
He sat down on the couch, a little too close for comfort, and looked at Meiling.  
  
"Three weeks," Meiling said quickly, and suddenly wished she hadn't worn that short skirt when Mr. Shitoku put his hand down on her shoulder.  
  
"You're very beautiful," Mr. Shitoku said, and inched closer.  
  
"Yes, yes, thank you," Meiling said, getting flustered, and slid to the other end of the couch.  
  
"I've been watching you," Mr. Shitoku said, and leaned in, his hand moving down from her shoulder.  
  
Meiling jumped up and said, "You know what? I guess I'd better go now. Thank you so much."  
  
"Just a minute," Mr. Shitoku replied and got up.  
  
He walked towards Meiling menacingly, making her back up until she hit the wall.  
  
Mr. Shitoku quickly pinned her to the wall with his hands, and said, breathing heavily, "I've wanted you from the moment I've seen you."  
  
Meiling screamed as loud as she could, before Mr. Shitoku's mouth came on top of hers and forcedly kissed.  
  
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"Did you hear that?" Sakura suddenly asked Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran's ears perked up, and he could detect a faint scream coming from inside the building.  
  
"Meiling!" they both exclaimed at the first time.  
  
They got out of the car and ran into the gym.  
  
"That way!" Sakura pointed to a hallway that probably led to the offices.  
  
"Hey, you can't go in there!" a girl protested, but her warnings were ignored.  
  
Sakura quickly found a door that read, "Mr. Shitoku: General Manager."  
  
She rattled the doorknob, but said, "It's locked."  
  
"Stand back," Syaoran growled, and Sakura quickly slid off to the side.  
  
Sakura watched in fascination as Syaoran walked back to the wall, bent down, sprung up and kicked his legs out, landing a perfect blow to the door.  
  
The wooden door creaked for a moment, then collapsed.  
  
"Let's go," Syaoran said to Sakura.  
  
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Meiling squirmed underneath Mr. Shitoku as he kissed her, and Meiling tried to escape by kicking her legs at Mr. Shitoku.  
  
"Don't you dare," Mr. Shitoku snarled as Meiling pushed him away.  
  
He was way too heavy for her, and Meiling kept on struggled and wriggled.  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open, and there came her saviors, Sakura and Syaoran.  
  
"Help!" Meiling exclaimed to them.  
  
Syaoran ran over to them and blew a punch directly to Mr. Shitoku's face.  
  
The older man roared in pain, and recoiled and dropped to the floor.  
  
Sakura grabbed Meiling's wrist and pulled her out of the room.  
  
They ran out to the front desk, where Sakura told the clerk, "Meiling quits. That's it."  
  
Sakura led Meiling to the car, where Meiling had started sobbing.  
  
"There, there," Sakura soothed and hugged her friend, patting her head comfortingly.  
  
Syaoran emerged from the gym five minutes later, looking fired up and angry.  
  
"That bastard of Shitoku. He's lucky I didn't kill him right then and there," Syaoran muttered angrily.  
  
"Well, he certainly IS shit-oku," Sakura joked lightly.  
  
"That's right," Syaoran growled.  
  
He turned to his cousin and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
Meiling had stopped crying and said softly, "I'm okay. I'm just in a little shock."  
  
Sakura offered, "I'll call Eriol and Tomoyo and tell them we're not meeting them anymore."  
  
Meiling shook her head, "No, that's okay. I can handle it."  
  
Sakura continued to hug her friend and stroke her hair gently.  
  
Meiling finally sighed, and got out a mirror.  
  
"Got a tissue?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura handed her one and Meiling dried her tear-streaked and mascara-streaked face.  
  
"I'm hungry. Hurry up and go!" Meiling exclaimed to her cousin.  
  
Syaoran let out a crooked smile, and said, "She's better now."  
  
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The three of them arrived at the meeting spot, which was a street corner that had tents on the sidewalks that were noodle shops which served all kinds of food, including lots and lots of beer.  
  
"I guess we're going to eat there," Sakura said, and her stomach grumbled at the thought of nicely done noodles in a broth…yum.  
  
"There they are!" Meiling pointed to a couple getting out of a black Mercedes Benz.  
  
They waved and walked over to the three.  
  
"Meiling, what happened? Did you cry?" Tomoyo asked, immediately recognizing Meiling's face.  
  
"I'll explain later," Meiling said.  
  
"Tomoyo said that the food here is pretty good, so this would be a great place to talk. And as usual, Touya's not coming. He has, however, resigned to the fact that he's coming with us to the mountains," Eriol said.  
  
"Good. I want to meet him," Sakura said.  
  
"Oh, trust me, you don't," Eriol said.  
  
They stepped into the covered tent and found a rickety old table and plastic chairs.  
  
"Five bowls of noodles and three bottles of beer!" Eriol yelled at the working women.  
  
They nodded and immediately started dishing their food into bowls.  
  
"So, what are the final plans?" Sakura asked, getting out a piece of paper and pen.  
  
"Today's December 10th. We're going to pick you guys up and ride to the mountains in Touya's Explorer on the 15th at 5 am," Eriol started.  
  
"That's too early!" Sakura protested.  
  
"Yeah, we all know how late Sakura wakes up," Tomoyo teased Sakura.  
  
She blushed and looked down at her paper.  
  
"We'll arrive around 9 at the mountains and settle down. We're coming back on the 30th and leaving at whatever time we feel like it. Sound good?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Yep. We already told Yuki that we're going to be gone those two weeks, and he seems pretty fine about it," Meiling said.  
  
"Speaking of this Yuki, I was wondering if I could meet him. I mean, I want to thank him for taking care of you guys for all these years," Syaoran said casually.  
  
Meiling shot Syaoran a look, "I guess. But December's too busy."  
  
Syaoran nodded.  
  
The only reason he wanted to meet Yuki was to confirm his hunch about this Yuki being the computer genius with the disk. And yeah, he wanted to thank him too. Sorta.  
  
"So tell us what happened to you," Tomoyo asked.  
  
Meiling relived the story of Mr. Shitoku trying to hit on her, and Eriol and Tomoyo sighed sympathetically.  
  
"So you don't have a job, right?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Pretty much. I can probably get a job some place else," Meiling said.  
  
"I could look around for you. You did graduate from college, right?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Yep. Even got a bachelor's degree. Anyways, our food's here! Let's eat!" Meiling exclaimed.  
  
Syaoran popped the lid off the beer bottles and poured it out in little cups for everyone.  
  
"I don't drink…but what the heck, just this one time!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
They all raised their glasses up and made a toast, "To us and our trip!"  
  
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End of Chapter 4. Next chapter, 'Trip to the Mountains'.  
  
A/N: Hey…chapter four here!! Haha. I put my author's note down always at the bottom, so read it here. I changed the summary for this…I think my new one is a LOT better. Hehe. Review!! R  
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	5. Trip to the Mountains

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 5: Trip to the Mountains  
  
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"Wake up!" Tomoyo hissed into Sakura's ear.  
  
"Mmm?" Sakura asked sleepily, barely opening her eyes.  
  
"Wake up and get dressed! It's already 4:50!" Tomoyo said persistently.  
  
"But I dun wanna go," Sakura groaned.  
  
"You don't want to go to the mountains? After all that trouble for packing?" Meiling asked loudly, coming out of the bathroom as she dried her face.  
  
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, now awake, "The mountains!"  
  
"And the hills! And the prairies!" Meiling exclaimed.  
  
Yuki shot her a look that plainly said, "Don't tease her."  
  
"Sorry, Yuki. And Sakura," Meiling apologized, "I'm just a little hyper from excitement."  
  
Sakura had gotten up and gone into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, when she replied, "It's okay. I understand. What time is it now?"  
  
Tomoyo answered, "4:55"  
  
"Eek, it's still dark outside!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
She quickly changed into warm clothes, added a ski hat, gloves and scarf, and put on her lucky necklace, the one with the ring that had name inscribed on it, the only part of her past she knew.  
  
"Are you guys ready?" Tomoyo asked, adjusting her ski cap on her head.  
  
"I'm ready. Let's go outside and wait for them. It's going to take a long time to get these bags downstairs," Sakura said and made a face.  
  
"Let's go. Yuki, could you help us?" Meiling asked.  
  
He nodded and got up from the chair he had been sitting on, and lifted five of the eight bags the girls they had packed.  
  
For such a skinny guy, he sure had a lot of force.  
  
"Yuki, don't overuse your strength. The bags are heavy," Sakura scolded.  
  
Yuki shrugged and gave Sakura a small smile.  
  
He led the way downstairs, the girls heaving the bags with them.  
  
They finally reached the lobby and outside, where it was pitch black as midnight.  
  
Yuki put the bags down by their feet and motioned that he'd be going back upstairs.  
  
"You're going already?" Meiling asked, "Well, Yuki, I hope you have a nice Christmas."  
  
She gave him a big hug, nearly engulfing his thin, white body with her huge ski jacket.  
  
Yuki smiled at her, and Tomoyo said, "I'm so sorry that we can't be with you at Christmas. Are you going to be too lonely? We'll call, I promise. And buy you cool gifts."  
  
She kissed him on the cheek and also gave him a hug, and Sakura did the same, saying, "Merry Christmas! We'll be back before you know it."  
  
Yuki nodded at them, and turned around and went back into the building.  
  
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Syaoran squinted at Sakura, Tomoyo and Meiling.  
  
He caught a glimpse of a man walking back inside the building, and Eriol suddenly slapped his shoulder, "Hurry and get there! Tomoyo must be freezing!"  
  
Syaoran made a face and mimicked, "Tomoyo, tomoyo, tomoyo, that's all you ever talk about."  
  
Eriol rolled his eyes and said, "I love her. You know that."  
  
Syaoran shrugged and parked next to the sidewalk.  
  
He got out with Eriol and they said, "Hey."  
  
Tomoyo asked, "Where's Touya?"  
  
Eriol laughed and said, "He's in the back sleeping. He actually let Syaoran drive his car."  
  
Eriol gestured to the huge deep blue SUV, a Ford Explorer (is it Ford? Or is it Chevy? Or Dodge???!!?!), which had three rows of seats.   
  
Syaoran and Eriol picked up the girls' bags and opened up the trunk of the large SUV and stuffed the bags into there.  
  
"Eriol's going to be driving the whole way. I'm guessing Tomoyo wants to sit next to him, and so Sakura, Meiling and I are going to be squished in the two back seats with Touya.  
  
"I'll sit on the back with Touya!" Meiling immediately volunteered.  
  
Syaoran gave her a quizzical look, and Meiling returned it with a mischievous grin, thinking, "Haha! This is my chance to see if Sakura and Syaoran like each other!"  
  
"All right. Let's go!"  
  
Eriol ran over to the other side and got into the driver's seat and Tomoyo got into the passanger's.  
  
Sakura stood behind Syaoran, who was behind Meiling, who was trying to open the door.  
  
When she finally succeeded, she bent her head and looked at the sleeping form on the third seat.  
  
"Yo, wake up, Touya! I'm Meiling, Syaoran's cousin. Wake up 'cause I got to sit with you."  
  
Touya woke up and rubbed his eyes and looked at Meiling.  
  
"Hi," he croaked, and sat up, letting Meiling sit down next to him.  
  
Syaoran came into the car and slid over, letting Sakura come in.  
  
Sakura got in and smiled at Touya, "Hi, Touya! I'm Sakura Yuki."  
  
And she held out her hand to let Touya shake it.  
  
But he could only stare at her with his mouth open in shock.  
  
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Sakura shifted uncomfortably and sneaked a peek behind herself to Meiling, who mouthed, "He's still staring at you."  
  
Sakura made a face and turned back.  
  
They had only been traveling for an hour, and already they were bored.  
  
Eriol had turned on some music while he and Tomoyo chatted, and Syaoran was staring out the window.  
  
"So," Sakura coughed, trying to strike up a conversation, and turned around to face Touya, who had an odd look on his face, "Tell me about yourself, Touya."  
  
Touya said slowly, "I came to the big city thirteen years ago. My father was killed on his job, and my younger sister was shot. I was took in by my now-employer, and I came to live with Eriol and Syaoran for the past 8 years."  
  
Sakura smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry about your father and sister. What happened to her?"  
  
Touya gave Sakura a hard look and said, "She disappeared. I never saw her again."  
  
Meiling, hearing their conversation, thought, 'Shot? Didn't Sakura have that injury on her arm when she first came with us…thirteen years ago?'  
  
Meiling shook her head, and thought again, 'Don't get involved.'  
  
She turned back the conversation which Sakura and Touya were having.  
  
"So," Touya asked casually, "What about your life?"  
  
Sakura smiled brightly and said, "I've lived with Tomoyo and Meiling and Yuki for most of my life. That's basically it. I don't have any parents."  
  
"Oh. I see."  
  
"Food stop!" Eriol declared from the front seat, "We're getting breakfast at McDonalds®!"  
  
Meiling groaned, "I hate their food. Makes me barf in the car."  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo rolled their eyes.  
  
"Well, let's just take a break there," Eriol suggested.  
  
"All right. I'm ready to stretch," Tomoyo said and hopped out of the car.  
  
The air was crisp with the smell of Christmas nearing.  
  
They walked into the McDonalds, which had the usual array of breakfast customers.  
  
"What do you want?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
"Um, I guess a one of those weird looking egg muffin sandwiches will do," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. I'll buy one for you," Syaoran said.  
  
"You will? Thank you!" Sakura threw her arms around Syaoran unexpectedly, scaring Syaoran for a moment.  
  
"We gotta go to the bathroom," Tomoyo said, and pointed to the general direction of the restrooms.  
  
Immediately Sakura and Meiling flocked to her side and they walked to the bathroom.  
  
Eriol sighed, "What is it with girls and them all going to the bathroom in groups?"  
  
Touya and Syaoran shrugged, "Beats me."  
  
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The three girls were done with their business and were washing their hands in the sink, when suddenly they heard a ring coming from Tomoyo's pocket.  
  
She blushed at Sakura and Meiling and got out a cute little silver cell phone, and said, "Hello? Oh, hi, Eriol. What do I want? Get me whatever your getting. Orange juice for me, though. All right. I love you."  
  
Tomoyo hung up and put the phone back into her pocket, looking pleased.  
  
"How come you never told us you have a cell phone?" Meiling demanded.  
  
Tomoyo blushed again, "Eriol bought if for me. I just forgot about it because I haven't used it a lot."  
  
Sakura grinned, "Lucky you. Meiling, you should ask Syaoran to get you a celly."  
  
Meiling smiled mischievously, "Maybe I will."  
  
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After the three men had ordered and gotten their orders, they sat down on one of the larger tables.  
  
"There they are," Touya pointed to the three, refreshed looking girls coming back.  
  
"Foods here," Eriol said.  
  
He had already unwrapped his breakfast burrito and was munching on it.  
  
The girls sat down, and Sakura found herself squashed next to Syaoran.  
  
"Sorry I'm crowding you," Sakura smiled apologetically at Syaoran and reached for a wrapped package, "Is this mine?"  
  
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The six people got back into the car and Eriol started up the engine for more long hours of driving.  
  
"Let's turn on the radio for some singing!" Tomoyo exclaimed and quickly turned on the radio to the nearest station that you could listen to.  
  
"It's an oldie, I think," Meiling said, listening to the song.  
  
"I've heard this somewhere before," Sakura grinned.  
  
She opened her mouth and started singing, her sweet melodious voice filling the room, accompanied by the background music of Vanessa Carlton.  
  
"You light me up and then I fall for you.   
You lay me down and then I call for you.   
Stumbling on reasons that are far and few   
I let it all come down and then sung for you.   
  
Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming 'round.   
Oh pretty baby. "  
  
Suddenly, Touya fell into a flashback.  
  
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There was Sakura, singing along to the radio in the car, while Touya and Fujitaka were in the front speaking.  
  
"And I know things can't last forever   
But there are lessons that you'll never learn.   
Oh just the scent of you, it makes me hurt.   
So havin' your love makes me better. Oh…"  
  
Sakura's cute 9 year old voice was singing as loudly as she could,  
  
"Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming   
  
Can you hold me?   
And never let go   
When you touch me   
And it's me that you own.   
Pretty baby,   
oh the place that you hold in my heart.   
Would you break it apart? Again   
Oh pretty baby   
  
Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming 'round.   
  
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
Pretty baby, don't you leave me.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
Pretty baby, don't you leave me.   
Pretty baby. My pretty baby   
My pretty baby, don't you leave me…"  
  
(Disclaimer: Lyrics belong to Vanessa Carlton. I don't own 'em, I just use 'em.)  
  
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"Touya? Touya?" Sakura waved her hand over Touya's glazed face.  
  
"Huh? What?" Touya snapped back to earth.  
  
"You scared us. I thought you went into some trance or something," Sakura told him.  
  
"Oh. Nothing. Just thinking," Touya replied.  
  
He casually asked, "So, Sakura. That's an unusual name. How did you come to have it? Did your parents name you?"  
  
Sakura smiled and said, "I don't quite remember. My parents…my parents died when I was too young. But I just know that somehow, my name was destined to be Sakura."  
  
Meiling was about to interrupt their conversation to remind Sakura about the ring, but just kept quiet.  
  
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Two hours later…  
  
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"I'm tired," Eriol announced, "Anyone else want to drive?"  
  
"I will!" Sakura volunteered.  
  
"Can you even drive?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura smiled at him, "Of course I can. I got a license and everything. I just don't drive because I don't have a car."  
  
"Well, let Syaoran drive," Meiling said, "You haven't driven in three years and who knows what might happen?"  
  
Sakura blushed and she said, "Fine. You can drive, Syaoran."  
  
Syaoran shrugged and said, "Pull over, Eriol."  
  
"Alright," Eriol said and roughly turned the steering wheel to the side.  
  
The people in the car jolted over, and Syaoran and Eriol switched places.  
  
"I want to be in the back with Eriol," Tomoyo said, "Sakura, you want to sit in the front?"  
  
"But Meiling should," Sakura protested.  
  
Meiling and Tomoyo winked at each other, "It's all right," Meiling said, "Sakura, you should sit in the front."  
  
Sakura said, "Okay."  
  
She got out and swapped places with Tomoyo, buckled herself in and smiled at Syaoran, who was giving Tomoyo and Meiling a suspicious look.  
  
"Let's go," Syaoran said, and turned the car back into the freeway lane.  
  
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Two more hours later…  
  
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"We're almost here," Syaoran abruptly said.  
  
"Mmm? Oh, wow, look at the view!" Sakura exclaimed, peering out the window.  
  
The car was steadily climbing the mountain, which was covered in snow, and on the side of a cliff.  
  
"Let me get my camera out," Tomoyo fished in her backpack for her camera, a present from Sakura and Meiling last year, and said, "Could you stop the car for a minute? No one's coming."  
  
Syaoran obeyed and slowly stopped the car just a foot away from the edge of the cliff.  
  
Tomoyo rolled the window down, letting a gust of wind blow in, and took a picture of the beautiful view overlooking the valley.  
  
"Sakura, Syaoran, turn around!" Tomoyo said.  
  
They both simultaneously turned around, craning their necks around the head-supporter of the chair, and Tomoyo snapped a photo of both of them.  
  
Then she took a picture of Touya and Meiling, who were both sleeping, and then she had Sakura take a cute picture of Eriol and herself.  
  
"Let's go now," Syaoran said, and started the car back up.  
  
They rolled along the road, traveling up and up, until they arrived at a quaint town.  
  
"What's the town called?" Sakura asked, looking out the window as they passed a clothing shop, the deli, and a bakery.  
  
"I don't know. Our cabin's at the edge of the city, closer to the mountains. We're almost there," Syaoran said, as the rolled along a post office, the grocer's, a coffee shop and a tailor's shop.  
  
Sakura smiled genuinely and said, "I'm so excited! Are there places where we can borrow skis and snowboards?"  
  
"Eriol already bought three extra skis and snowboards, plus we can teach you," Syaoran said.  
  
They continued past a tavern/bar and a doctor's office and a tiny carpenter's shop.  
  
"Seriously? I'm so grateful you guys are doing all of this for us," Sakura smiled.  
  
"You're always happy, aren't you?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura gave a small, rather sad grin and said, "I just figured it's better to be happy than sad. I do have a sad past…I mean, it's not everyday your parents are both dead and you don't remember--"  
  
Sakura stopped.  
  
"Go on," Syaoran said.  
  
"Nothing. What about you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Pretty much the same thing. My father was killed by someone. I still don't know who. And I've lost contact with my mother, so basically both of them are dead to me."  
  
Sakura sympathetically patted Syaoran on the shoulder, "I understand. Ooh, is that the cabin? Please tell me it is!!!!!"  
  
Syaoran laughed in spite of himself at Sakura's enthusiasm, "Yes, it's the cabin. Two stories high."  
  
"Wake up! Wake up!" Sakura yelled to the people sleeping in the back, "We're here!"  
  
The four other people mumbled and groaned as they got up, but their tiredness soon turned to happiness.  
  
Syaoran parked the car and Eriol gave Tomoyo the key, and the three girls ran to the front door.  
  
It was made of heavy oak, and Tomoyo quickly put in the key and turned it gently.  
  
The lock gave a click and Tomoyo opened the door.  
  
"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.  
  
There was a fireplace already roaring, and a note from the maid that had gotten the house ready.  
  
"I received a call that your ski's and boards will be ready on the 16th," Tomoyo read, "And today's the 15th. I guess we'll have to wait for the slopes until tomorrow."  
  
The three men came in, huffing and puffing with all of their luggage.  
  
The downstairs had a small, cozy kitchen with all the essentials, and a large pantry already stocked with food.  
  
The living room was in the middle, with three huge couches and a bear rug in front of the roaring fireplace, and a coffee table.  
  
There was a small bathroom right next to the staircase, and which curved upward to the second floor.  
  
The second floor was loft-style, so there was a rail from which you could look down onto the living room.  
  
"The rooms are over there," Syaoran pointed upwards.  
  
Sakura, Tomoyo and Meiling pounded upstairs and opened the first room, which was a light blue color and three beds already made.   
  
"That must be our room," Meiling exclaimed, and they moved on to the next room.  
  
"Syaoran's and Eriol's," Sakura said, looking at the dark green room with two beds.  
  
"And Touya's," Tomoyo finally said, opening the door to the last room.  
  
There were also two bathrooms, one which was the girls, and one which was the guys.  
  
"We brought up the luggage!" Touya hollered.  
  
"I'll go get ours," Sakura said, and yawned, "I'm tired."  
  
She went out to the hallway and peeked over the railing to see Syaoran and Eriol bringing their bags upstairs.  
  
There were the girl's luggage on the floor, and Sakura grabbed hers and went back to the room.  
  
She went back outside and got two more, and went back inside again and put the bags back down, went out side and repeated the procedure until all the bags were in their rooms.  
  
"Yo, Sakura. We're going to take a walk around the town and see what's up. You wanna come?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Who's going?" Sakura asked, and yawned again.  
  
"Me, Eriol, Tomoyo and I think Touya," Meiling replied.  
  
"It's all right. I'm just going to stay here and take a nap," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. We'll be back by three," Meiling said, and left the room.  
  
Sakura yawned and stretched and climbed on top of the bed.  
  
She put her head on the soft pillow and dropped asleep.  
  
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"Bye," Syaoran said, and shut the door behind Touya, who was lagging behind Meiling, who was following Eriol and Tomoyo.  
  
Syaoran put on a pair of warm slippers and padded upstairs.  
  
He peeked into Sakura's room, and saw her fast asleep, curled on top of the bed.  
  
Syaoran cracked a smile and went inside.  
  
He took the warm blanket from the next bed and draped it across Sakura's shoulders gently, making sure to not bother her.  
  
She stirred slightly, and even in her sleep, she smiled blissfully.  
  
Syaoran tucked the blanket around her and quietly left the room.  
  
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"Mmm…What time is it?" Sakura murmured from her sleep.  
  
She opened her eyes and saw that she had a thick blanket over herself, making her warm and toasty.  
  
Sakura stretched and got up, and left her room.  
  
She walked down the staircase and saw Syaoran on the couch, sipping on a cup of coffee in front of the fire and reading the newspaper.  
  
"Hi," Sakura said softly.  
  
"Hi. Nice nap?" Syaoran asked, his eyes on his newspaper.  
  
Sakura smiled, "Yeah. Thanks for putting the blanket around me."  
  
Syaoran looked up, "How'd you know it was me?"  
  
"It was quite simple, Watson," Sakura mimicked Sherlock Holmes' British accent, "It was all a matter of ruling out the suspects."  
  
Syaoran smiled, and Sakura returned to her normal voice, "You should smile more."  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "I don't have much to smile about."  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Of course not. Want me to get you some coffee?" Syaoran offered.  
  
"Hot chocolate sounds good," Sakura said, and while Syaoran was putting together her sweet drink, she pulled a throw over herself, and stared into the fire.  
  
"Don't you think fires are so amazing?" Sakura asked Syaoran when he returned with her drink.  
  
She sipped it quietly while Syaoran gazed into the fire.  
  
"It is amazing," Syaoran agreed.  
  
Sakura finished her drink and set it down on the coffee table.  
  
"Hungry, are we?" Syaoran teased.  
  
Sakura answered by her stomach's grumbling.  
  
"Want me to fix you a sandwich or something?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Oh, it's okay. I'll eat when the others come back, and besides, you already made me a drink," Sakura replied.  
  
"No, it's okay. I mean, they've probably already ate by now," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura grinned at him, "In that case, I'm all up for a sandwich. No mayonnaise, please."  
  
Syaoran got up and Sakura said, "I'll go with you. We can do the dishes together. I wash, you dry."  
  
Syaoran smiled again, and said, "I'm all up for it."  
  
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Sakura rinsed off the dish with hot water and handed it to Syaoran, and he dried it with a dish towel.  
  
"You'd make a good father and husband," Sakura suddenly said.  
  
"Huh?" Syaoran looked at her, eyebrow raised.  
  
Sakura blushed, "I mean to say, you're good at everything. You have a good job, you can cook, wash, clean, everything."  
  
Syaoran laughed shortly, "Yeah, that's me, Mr. Mom."  
  
Sakura answered by lifting her hands out of the soapy water and blew a bubble at him, which landed on his forehead.  
  
"Hey!" Syaoran exclaimed, and grabbed some bubbles from the sink and threw them at Sakura.  
  
They landed in her hair, and Sakura flicked water at Syaoran.  
  
"I'm going to get you back!" Sakura squealed and ducked as Syaoran threw a handful of water at her, soaking her shirt.  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Syaoran asked, and smiled again.  
  
"Yeah," Sakura said, and got up.  
  
Their eyes met, and Sakura paused, gazing into Syaoran's eyes.  
  
They were staring at each other, caught up in the moment, but it was passed when they heard the front door opening.  
  
"I better wash up," Sakura said, "You can finish the dishes and clean up the kitchen!"  
  
She stuck out her tongue at Syaoran and left the room.  
  
Meiling and Tomoyo came into the kitchen, seeing a soppy, soapy Syaoran standing. (Hey! A tongue twister! Say it three times really fast!)  
  
"What happened?" Meiling asked, step siding over the wet spots on the floor.  
  
Syaoran wiped the grin off his face and said, "Nothing."  
  
"You don't look like a nothing to me," Meiling said, examining him, "You got into a water fight with Sakura! Haha!"  
  
"Looks like it to me, too," Tomoyo agreed.  
  
She left when she heard Eriol calling for her, and Meiling said seriously, "You like her, don't you?"  
  
"What? Tomoyo? Why would I?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"No, dummy! Sakura! I mean, you only smile when you're around her," Meiling said.  
  
Syaoran scowled, "She's just a cheery person. It rubs off on me. She has good karma."  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Yeah right. You like her. Let me warn you though, you better catch her before she finds someone else."  
  
Meiling turned to leave, but Syaoran muttered to himself, "Yeah right. She doesn't date."  
  
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The next day…  
  
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Sakura woke up, yawning.  
  
She peeked out the window, and saw freshly fallen snow covering the yard and the back porch.   
  
"SNOW!" Sakura exclaimed, and quickly got up.  
  
"Wake up, wake up, Tomoyo, Meiling," Sakura nudged her two friends and they responded by cracking open their eyes.  
  
"We know, Sakura," Meiling mumbled, "Of course its snowing. Its in the middle of December plus we're in the mountains."  
  
"What time is it?" Tomoyo inquired, sitting up in her bed.  
  
"Six. When do you think we'll get our snowboards?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Soon. Let's go down for breakfast. Hopefully, someone will have breakfast all set out for us," Meiling said airily.  
  
Sakura laughed, "Little spoiled princess!"  
  
Tomoyo and Meiling laughed, and they got up, put on their slippers and headed out.  
  
The three girls walked down to the kitchen, and they found the three men bustling in the kitchen to cook breakfast.  
  
"You were right," Sakura joked to Meiling, "They did make breakfast for us."  
  
"Is this my plate?" Tomoyo asked, sitting down.  
  
"We'll cook breakfast for you tomorrow. What time did you wake up?" Sakura asked, looking at Syaoran.  
  
"Five thirty. It's a little later than the time I usually get up. Poor Touya was forced to wake up by Eriol," Syaoran said.  
  
"Thanks a lot," Sakura said, happily, and breathed in the aroma of bacons, eggs and toast.  
  
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"This way," Eriol led the way to a tiny cabin in the middle of the woods on one of the mountains, a place where an old man made special skis and boards.  
  
"Wow," Sakura said softly, looking at the sight before her.  
  
There was the quaint wooden cabin, with logs stacked beside it.  
  
The shade from the evergreen trees cast over the cabin, and the freshly fallen snow lay untouched on the floor of the forest…  
  
"Not anymore!" Sakura and Meiling squealed, and they threw themselves on the floor and made a snow angel.  
  
"Tsk, tsk," Eriol said, "You're getting yourself wet."  
  
"Ha!" Tomoyo made a snowball and threw it in Eriol's face.  
  
"Augh!" he hollered, and responded by also throwing a chunk of snow at Tomoyo.  
  
"Immature brats," Touya rolled his eyes.  
  
Syaoran stood beside him, watching the scene unfold before his eyes of four excited people playing in the snow.  
  
A shot rang out in the air, and suddenly everyone was silent.  
  
They slowly turned around to see a wounded bear, with blood spilling out from its body.  
  
"No," Sakura murmured softly, and ran to the bear, "Don't die. You didn't do anything--"  
  
"Sakura get back here, it's wounded!" Syaoran yelled to Sakura, and sprinted to her and grabbed her.  
  
"It's dead," a gruff voice said from the entrance of the cabin, making them all whirl around.  
  
"Mr. Wagehi, nice to see you again. Do you have our snowboards ready?" Touya asked, ignoring Sakura and Syaoran.  
  
"Yes. Come and get them," the man said, and slowly retreated into his cabin.  
  
"But the bear," Sakura whimpered, still staring at the bear, with blood still coming out, staining the beautiful white snow.  
  
"Sakura, it's dead. It's an animal. It probably had rabies. It could've killed us all," Syaoran said.  
  
"But it didn't do anything," Sakura protested softly.  
  
"Let's go back in," Tomoyo said hastily, "Get some coffee, eh?"  
  
The happy wintery mood had been killed by the dead bear (no pun intended), and Eriol and Tomoyo supported Sakura's arms and walked her into the cabin, where Touya had already gone in.  
  
"Excuse her," Meiling told Syaoran softly.   
  
They were still outside, and Syaoran said, "We should go in."  
  
"I know. But if you want to know why she's so…affected by the bear's death is…we don't know why either. It was probably in her past before she came to live with us. She did the same thing years ago when she saw a cat killing a bird. I suppose she just hates death," Meiling explained.  
  
"Whatever," Syaoran said, trying to act like he didn't care, "I don't give a damn about her."  
  
"Or so you think," Meiling said mischievously.  
  
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"There are your snowboards. And those are your skis," the old man pointed out.  
  
"Wow, is this mine?" Sakura reached over and picked up a long board painted pink with light, pastel cherry blossoms all over it.  
  
Her mood had lightened considerably since they walked into the cabin and had a cup of coffee.  
  
Now, it was time for the snowboards.  
  
"Yeah. It was Syaoran's idea," Eriol said, and nudged Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran shrugged, and looked down at his feet.  
  
The girls got their skis and snowboards and trekked back to the car, where they loaded it on top of the Explorer.  
  
"When can we hit the slopes?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
Eriol laughed, "Right now. Or as soon as we drive up to the parking lot, put our skis in for safekeeping, take the lift up to the top of the mountain, then warm up, then teach you how to snowboard, THEN finally go surfing down the mountain."  
  
Sakura pouted, "Aw. Does it have to take so long?"  
  
Everyone laughed, except for Syaoran and Touya, of course.  
  
"We're here," Eriol announced several minutes later.  
  
"Yippee!" Sakura exclaimed, while Tomoyo commented humorously, "You sure had a lot of sugar this morning."  
  
"I can't help it--I LOVE snow!" Sakura exclaimed, and took a deep breath to inhale the fresh air.  
  
"We can tell," Touya said.  
  
Sakura just smiled at him and said, "So where's the place we put our skis?"  
  
"First, we need to take them off the top of the car," Syaoran said, and looked at Touya and Eriol, "A little help?"  
  
The three guys got the skis and snowboards off the roof, and Syaoran handed Sakura her board.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura told him, and said, "You want me to carry my skis?"  
  
"No, I'll take them up for you," Syaoran grunted.  
  
They walked up a little ways to a medium sized building, where people dressed up like eskimos were carrying their luggage around.  
  
"There's check in," Meiling pointed to a sign, and the group went over there.  
  
"Hello, Syaoran, Touya, Eriol. Haven't seen you in a long time," an attractive girl told the three men.  
  
She had long brown hair, and her waist was so narrow it looked like you could put your hands around it.  
  
"Hey, Shawna," Eriol greeted.  
  
The girl flipped her long hair and smiled at him, "You guys here to snowboard?"  
  
"Yeah. These are our guests, Tomoyo, Sakura and Meiling," Eriol introduced.  
  
"Hi," Shawna said, not looking at them, "So Syaoran, built some muscles up this past year, didn't you? And same to you, Touya."  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged looks with Meiling, who rolled her eyes in the direction of Shawna.  
  
"We'll take our snowboards out of our account and put in three pairs of skis," Syaoran said, cutting to the chase.  
  
"All right. I'll be right back," Shawna said, winked at Eriol and sashayed away.  
  
"So, how do you know her?" Tomoyo asked casually.  
  
Eriol shrugged, "We've seen her every year since, oh I don't know, five years ago? She's my age, so we got along well."  
  
Touya snorted and said, "Yeah, REAL well. On the first day they met, too."  
  
Syaoran snickered, "Really REALLY well."  
  
"Shut up," Eriol said, turning a shade of purple and red.  
  
"I'm back with your boards. I'll take your skis now," Shawna came back, interrupting them.  
  
The three guys handed her the girls' skis and received their snowboards, which Shawna had brought back on a little cart.  
  
"Why don't you guys just keep your snowboards in your cabin?" Meiling inquired.  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "Someone might break in and steal them. They're safe here, and it doesn't cost much to keep them here."'  
  
"Back to Eriol and Shawna," Tomoyo interrupted, "So what exactly did they get along in?"  
  
Syaoran and Touya said simultaneously, "A bed," and cracked up.  
  
"So you two…" Tomoyo pointed to Eriol and the direction Shawna had gone in, "Slept together?"  
  
"That's not all they did!" Syaoran snorted.  
  
"I see," Tomoyo said quietly.  
  
"Tomoyo, baby, it doesn't mean anything. Don't be jealous of her," Eriol said.  
  
"I'm not jealous. I'm just wondering why you would sleep with a girl who you just met," Tomoyo said, her voicing starting to go higher and higher.  
  
Eriol sighed, "I've changed since then, Tomoyo. I fell in love with you."  
  
Tomoyo looked into Eriol's eyes and hesitated.  
  
"All right," Tomoyo said softly, "But only because I love you back."  
  
"Let's go out onto the slopes. I'll teach you how to snowboard," Eriol said.  
  
"All right! Let's go!" Meiling and Sakura exclaimed, and started marching out of the doors from where they had entered.  
  
"Um, it's that way," Syaoran coughed, and pointed to another door.  
  
"We knew that!" Meiling and Sakura chorused, and made a u-turn and headed back that way.  
  
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End of chapter 5. Next chapter, 'Snowboarding'.  
  
A/N: Kinda corny about the whole Tomoyo and Eriol thing. Oh well. Anyways, review for this now that "Saukra's First Time" is over! Btw, need 15 more reviews for that to reach my goal. Hehe. REVIEW!! 


	6. Snowboarding

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 6: Snowboarding  
  
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"So we're here," Sakura gulped, staring down the huge mountain, or so it seemed.  
  
"This is the bunny slope," Eriol reminded her.  
  
"It's still big," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. I'm going to teach Tomoyo, Syaoran, why don't you take care of Sakura and Touya can teach Meiling," Eriol directed.  
  
"Okay," Touya grunted.  
  
He flipped his snowboard around, got on it and started zooming down the mountain.  
  
"Hey!" Meiling called after him, "What about me?"  
  
"Here," Eriol said, "Put your feet firmly on the board."  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura followed suit.  
  
"Hey, I'm supposed to be teaching you," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura flashed him a grin, "But you aren't, are you?"  
  
Syaoran looked at her sheepishly, "All right. My fault. Um, how about I show you some basic things? Are you right handed or left handed?"   
  
"Right," Sakura answered.  
  
"Okay. Then you most likely want to face left. It's easier to maneuver that way. Then, as soon as you're balanced, you want to get some momentum to get you going. So act like your skateboarding, and give yourself a push," Syaoran said.  
  
"Wait, hold up. I'm still confused. I face left? Where do my hands go, then?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran walked behind Sakura and did a position.  
  
Sakura turned her head around and nodded, "Did that."  
  
"Now, are you balanced?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah," Sakura laughed, "I think I am."  
  
"I'm going to give you a slight push. That's going to send you going, okay? If you think you need to stop, fall down or yell at me. But otherwise, keep on going until you slow down and stop," Syaoran said.  
  
He put his hand gently on Sakura's hip and gave it a small push.  
  
Sakura screamed as she suddenly lurched forward, but pretty soon she got the control of the snowboard and slid down the hill.  
  
There was a tree coming up, so Sakura leaned over to the right and surprisingly, the snowboard obeyed and they passed the tree at a safe distance.  
  
It slowed down after awhile, and so Sakura stopped it and walked back up the hill.  
  
"That was fun," Sakura said shyly.  
  
"No problem. You're a natural."  
  
"All right. What's next?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
"Practice. Yo, Touya, where's Meiling?" Syaoran called to Touya, who was trudging uphill.  
  
"She actually got a hang of it and beat me. I couldn't believe it. And I'm the best snowboarder out of all of us," Touya complained.  
  
"Seriously?" Syaoran said, "Damn. She fast."  
  
Meiling appeared several minutes later, cheeks rosy and glowing, and she said, "Whoo! That rocked! I felt like I was flying."  
  
Sakura laughed, "Figures. You're the most athletic out of all of us. I barely got down this hill."  
  
Tomoyo and Eriol were walking up the hill hand in hand, "Hey. I actually got her to make it down this hill."  
  
"You guys went?" Sakura asked, "I thought you guys were still standing there talking!"  
  
Tomoyo and Eriol laughed, and said, "No."  
  
"Oh Eriol! Syaoran! Touya!" a familiar voice rang out.  
  
The six people turned around to see Shawna holding four cups of steaming coffee in mugs.  
  
"I'm on my break, Eriol," Shawna said flirtatiously and handed him a mug.  
  
She also handed Touya and Syaoran mugs and took the last one for herself and sipped it.  
  
"Don't you have any for them?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, them," Shawna looked at them for a minute, "No. But they can get some coffee down at the café."  
  
"Then we'll go," Meiling said sharply, and turned around and headed toward the building, Sakura and Tomoyo at her heels.  
  
"Tomoyo, wait!" Eriol gulped down his coffee, ignoring the stinging heat as it traveled down his throat, threw the mug in Shawna's hand and ran after Tomoyo.  
  
"Tsk, tsk. She has him right in the palm of her hand," Touya said.  
  
"They're going out? Eriol? And that purple haired girl? Puahahaha!" Shawna burst out in laugher, nearly spilling her coffee.  
  
"Yeah. They are. And it's a good relationship," Syaoran said rather coldly.  
  
Shawna flipped her hair and said, "Whatever. So are you going out with anybody?"  
  
Touya rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. Does he look like he is?"  
  
Shawna winked at Syaoran, "Then maybe we'll get together sometime."  
  
Syaoran guzzled down the rest of his coffee and gave it to Shawna, and said, "I'm a going catch up with Sak--I mean, Eriol and everyone."  
  
"Me too," Touya handed the mug back to Shawna and said, "Thanks."  
  
They walked away, their boots crunching in the snow, and Shawna pouted, "Bye then!"  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "God, she gets annoying."  
  
Touya laughed, "She likes you."  
  
"Who doesn't she like?" Syaoran asked sarcastically.  
  
"Me. I'm too old for her. Muahaha," Touya laughed evilly.  
  
"I'm afraid Tomoyo's jealous of Shawna. Partially 'cause Shawna's a slut and everybody likes them. And partially because it's Tomoyo's first boyfriend and we all know Eriol's status in dating," Touya said.  
  
"Mm," Syaoran agreed.  
  
They trotted up to the buildings, following Eriol's tracks.  
  
They walked into the coffee café and spotted Sakura, Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling sitting in a table together.  
  
"Hey," Touya greeted them.  
  
"Back at cha. The bitch gone yet?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura playfully swatted at Meiling, "Don't call her that! That's too mean."  
  
"Nah, I agree," Syaoran said, and let out a rare half-smile.  
  
Sakura laughed, "In that case, yeah, she's a bitch. And a big one at that."  
  
Touya and Syaoran pulled up a chair and sat down across Meiling and Sakura.  
  
"What are they talking about?" Touya whispered to Meiling and Sakura.  
  
Sakura shrugged, "I don't know. They've been talking."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
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Eriol held Tomoyo's hand gently, "I'm sorry about Shawna. I can tell she hurt your feelings."  
  
Tomoyo smiled sadly, "It's all right. I've met worse people than her."  
  
"Do you remember their names?" Eriol asked, serious.  
  
Tomoyo laughed, "Not all of them. But I doubt you can beat them up."  
  
Eriol gave a crooked grin to her and said, "I would try. Honestly."  
  
Tomoyo smiled and said, "It's just that…whenever I'm with Shawna, I always feel like I'm competing with you. Since you two have obviously went farther than I have with you, and she's so freaking thin and pretty…"  
  
"That's not true," Eriol said soberly, "Believe it or not, this is the farthest in a relationship I've ever gone emotionally in a relationship. All my other ones…they didn't mean anything, Tomoyo. I love you."  
  
"Me too," Tomoyo said sincerely, "I do."  
  
Eriol leaned forward and whispered in Tomoyo's ear, "Come to my bedroom at 8:00 tonight."  
  
Tomoyo looked at him, surprised, "What?"  
  
"I'm serious. Just come, all right. Don't worry about Syaoran," Eriol said.  
  
"All right," Tomoyo said uncertainly, "But this doesn't imply anything."  
  
Eriol gave her a charming, half-evil, half-innocent grin, "I know it doesn't."  
  
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"Ready to hit the slopes again?" Meiling asked Touya eagerly, "I'll race ya."  
  
Touya gave her a narrowed look, "You're on. You're on to the break of dawn, you're ON!"   
  
Meiling gave him a weird glance, "Right."  
  
"You ready to go?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
She grinned, "Sure!"  
  
She glanced at Eriol, who was whispering something in Tomoyo's ear.  
  
"I think we'll leave them alone," she said.  
  
They agreed.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran were walking side by side, following Meiling and Touya.  
  
Sakura suddenly tripped over a piece of solid ice and fell flat on her butt.  
  
"Ouch!" she complained, and squeezed her eyes shut.  
  
"Are you all right?" Syaoran paused walking to ask.  
  
"I think so," Sakura said, wincing, "Could you give me a hand up?"  
  
Syaoran obliged and held out his hand and Sakura quickly grasped it and pulled herself up.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura said, rubbing her butt.  
  
She forgot to let go of his hand and continued walking, wincing every so now and then while Syaoran was beet red, wondering what to do with the beautiful, soft hand in his own hand.  
  
"Ooh, Sakura. Holding hands?" Meiling turned around and teased.  
  
"Augh!" Sakura exclaimed, and dropped Syaoran's hand, "Sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh my god, how long was I holding you hand? This is so embarrassing!"  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "Three minutes. It's all right."  
  
Sakura laughed good naturedly, "Sorry. I can be so absentminded sometimes."  
  
Syaoran nodded, and they continued walking back to the slopes.  
  
Sakura was blushing, standing out from the white snow, when she realized that they were on top of the mountain.  
  
"Ready?" Touya asked Meiling, strapping on his goggles.  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You're so competitive!"  
  
"Grr…" Touya glared at the snow, and Sakura hollered, "Ready….set….go!!"  
  
Meiling and Touya shot off like rockets, speeding down the mountain quickly.  
  
A crowd gathered by Sakura and Syaoran, watching Meiling and Touya snowboard with all their talent.  
  
"She's good for a beginner," Syaoran commented.  
  
Someone heard them and pushed through the crowd, "She's a beginner? What's her name?"  
  
"Yeah, she's a beginner. I don't think she's ever held a snowboard before this morning and she's off racing Touya, who's really good," Sakura said.  
  
"Why do you want her name?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.  
  
"The name's Sean Kopitski. I'm in charge of a snowboard competition that's being held next week, three days before Christmas. If you'd like, she could enter. She has some potential," the man tipped his hat to Meiling, who was yards ahead of Touya, easily boarding down the mountain.  
  
"I'll take your card," Syaoran said, and pocketed the business card the man handed her.  
  
Meiling had reached the finish line she and Touya had agreed on, and skidded to a stop.  
  
She turned around and bowed to the crowd which was bowing, and smirked at Touya, who was red in the face.  
  
"Beginner's luck," he muttered, and scowled.  
  
She made her way back to the top and asked Sakura, "Who's all these people?"  
  
Sakura grinned and said, "Spectators."  
  
Meiling laughed and said mockingly, "Anyone want autographs?"  
  
Sean Kopitski said, "I gave your brother my card. I was wondering if you're interested in attending an amateur ski competition. No previous lessons are necessary, and the prize is 1000 dollars."  
  
"Wow! Sure, I'll enter!" Meiling exclaimed.  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes, but said, "Whatever. Your choice."  
  
"All right. What do I need to do?" Meiling asked.  
  
"You need to fill out these forms and return them by Friday in a table set up in the main ski building. Other than that, get a lot of practice and rest," Sean said, and handed Meiling a bundle of papers.  
  
"Okay. Thanks!" Meiling said.  
  
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Sakura and Meiling were downstairs with Touya and Syaoran watching a rented movie while Tomoyo was fretting in her room.  
  
She looked at the clock, which was loudly ticking, and it was already 7:55.  
  
Tomoyo opened the door to the closet and stared down at her clothes, wondering what to wear.  
  
She finally decided on a casual pair of jeans and sweater, and quietly snuck out of her room.  
  
She crawled down onto the floor and peeked through the bars of the hand railing to see the four other people munching on popcorn, totally into their movie.  
  
"Here goes nothing," Tomoyo breathed, stood up and entered Eriol's room.  
  
Eriol was wearing a loose cotton tee and a pair of boxers, standing in front of his dresser and moving things around.  
  
"Oh hi," Eriol greeted warmly and held his arms out for a hug.  
  
Tomoyo tentatively went towards him and kissed him, her heart pounding.  
  
"Relax, Tomoyo!" Eriol exclaimed, "I'm not going to do anything until you're ready."  
  
"B-but…it's going to be my first time and you've already done it so many! What if I suck?" Tomoyo said.  
  
Eriol laughed, "You're not gonna. Okay, just sit down on the bed next to me, first. All right. First, let me tell you that I've had all of my shots and on my last physical last month, my doctor told me that I'm fine and don't have any strange diseases."  
  
Tomoyo obligingly sat down on the bed, and said, "Same for me. I think. Yeah. I'm not sick or anything. And this is my first time."  
  
"I know that," Eriol said, getting up and he locked the door then sat down next to her.  
  
He put his arm around her and gently began to kiss her.  
  
"Mmm," Tomoyo murmured, entranced by him  
  
She began to run her hands over his back, and slowly pulled his shirt off, not letting her lips off of his.  
  
"I love you," Eriol whispered, and began kissing her neck, when Tomoyo suddenly pulled away.  
  
"That tickles," Tomoyo said very suddenly.  
  
Eriol looked at her and saw her looking at his shoulder.  
  
He forgot about his tattoo.  
  
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"What's that?" Tomoyo asked, backing away suddenly, pointing at the ugly black tattoo.  
  
"Nothing, nothing," Eriol said stupidly, covering it up with his hand.  
  
"No. God, Eriol, are you in a gang or something?" Tomoyo said, her voice starting to rise.  
  
She got up, and Eriol protested, "No, I'm not. It's just a stupid tattoo I got in college with my fraternity. I can't have it removed or anything."  
  
Tomoyo stared at him, disbelieving, and said, "Eriol, I can't sleep with you. We barely know anything about each other! I don't know anything about your family, you past, or even details about you job! We've only been going out for a month and I'm not ready to give myself to you, Eriol!" She was nearly shouting by now.  
  
Eriol said, "What about you, huh? All I know about you is that you're beautiful, smart, funny, but I'm willing to overlook what happened last time with Sonomi Daidouji, who I'm guessing is your mother and you're her long lost daughter."  
  
Tomoyo shut her mouth instantly, but said quietly, "But…"  
  
"Look , I can understand if you're hesitant. But know that I love you. And I trust you. Can't you do the same for me?" Eriol pleaded.  
  
Tomoyo said, on the verge of tears, "I'll get back to you on that."  
  
She turned and fled, quickly unlocking the door and opening it to Touya, Syaoran, Meiling and Sakura.  
  
"Tomoyo, are you okay? We heard yelling and we came up here and the door was locked. Syaoran was about to break it down," Sakura said.  
  
"I'm okay. Just let me go to my room," Tomoyo sniffled, and with Meiling and Sakura they went back to their room.  
  
"What'd you do, man?" Syaoran asked Eriol, who was staring at the spot Tomoyo had been.  
  
"Long story."  
  
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"So you two were about to have sex? Bwahahah!" Meiling laughed hysterically.  
  
Tomoyo gave her a sad look, and Meiling silenced quickly.  
  
Tomoyo said slowly, "And then I took his shirt off and he had this weird tattoo on his shoulder…it freaked me out, and I just realized that I didn't know anything about him, and that I couldn't sleep with him. So I left."  
  
"That was pretty dramatic," Sakura said, "But you two haven't broken up or anything, right? That'd be pretty cold."  
  
"I don't think so. But I wouldn't be surprised if Eriol wanted to, after seeing me chicken out like that."  
  
"Sweetie, don't feel like you have to measure up to his standards for him to love you," Meiling said, "He likes you as you are. So do what feels right for you."  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."  
  
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"She saw your tattoo?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Eriol nodded grimly, "I forgot about it. I should've known that she'd be turned off by it."  
  
"But what she said is true. About not knowing anything about you, I mean. Same with Meiling. I'm her cousin and she still doesn't know what I do," Syaoran said.  
  
"Yeah," Eriol agreed, "But I still want to go out with Tomoyo. What should I do?"  
  
"Talk to her. You're good with words," Syaoran suggested.  
  
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Eriol knocked on the girls' bedroom door quietly, "Tomoyo? Can I talk to you?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Well, I hope you can hear me. You were right about everything. So, if you're willing to give me another chance, I promise not to go too fast for you. I was wrong to try and seduce you tonight," Eriol thought he heard a stifled laugh inside, "So if you'll give me another try, I'd love to still date you and get to know you better as a person. Please forgive me."  
  
Eriol waited a moment after his speech, and the door slowly creaked open, revealing Tomoyo.  
  
"Okay," she said quietly, and hugged him.  
  
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Next day…December 17th…  
  
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"Wake up, Sakura! We're supposed to be cooking breakfast for the guys," Meiling gently pushed Sakura.  
  
"Mm? Oh yeah! And Syaoran said that today we're going to pick out our Christmas tree!" Sakura said, now instantly awake.  
  
"Yeah, Syaoran, Syaoran, that's all you ever talk about," Meiling said.  
  
Sakura was pulling on her slippers and said, "What? No I don't. He's a good friend."  
  
"Maybe more," Meiling snickered, and Sakura pushed her playfully, "Shut up."  
  
"I'm up!" Tomoyo exclaimed, coming into the door, freshly washed and clothed.  
  
"Ugh. I'll be cooking in my pj's," Sakura said, and Meiling agreed.  
  
As they headed downstairs, Sakura asked, "What are we going to be cooking?"  
  
"What about pancakes, sliced oranges and omelets?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I'll slice the oranges!" Sakura quickly volunteered.  
  
Meiling said, "Fine, fine, I'll do the pancakes. Tomoyo can do the omelets, and Sakura can pour the coffee and make it."  
  
They were in the kitchen and started pulling staple ingredients out, getting the milk and eggs from the refrigerator, flour from the pantry.  
  
"Do any of you know how to make pancakes?" Meiling asked, "There aren't any instant boxes in here where you 'just add water'."  
  
"Ooh, here's a cookbook," Sakura pulled out a book from one of the drawers and read, "Homestyle food."  
  
"Pancakes, pancakes," Meiling flipped to the index and looked up p.  
  
"Pancakes. Wheat, strawberry, blueberry, fruit, dinner, and cheese. Who eats cheese pancakes? Or dinner? And why don't they have regular pancakes?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Just go to strawberry pancakes and omit the strawberries," Tomoyo suggested, expertly cracking an egg and dropping the slimy stuff into a bowl.  
  
"All right."  
  
The kitchen was quiet as the three girls bustled around, slicing, stirring and mixing ingredients.  
  
"It's too quiet in here," Meiling said, "Some music!"  
  
Sakura put a kettle of water on the stove and walked over to the small kitchen radio and flipped on to the nearest station.  
  
"I'm…dreaming of a white Christmas!" Meiling sang along, off-key and off-tune to the radio, while Tomoyo squealed and covered her ears, "You damaged my ears!!"  
  
Sakura laughed and joined in with warbling horribly and purposly off key to annoy Tomoyo, "Just like the onnnnnnes I used to know!"  
  
"Am I interrupting something?" a bored voice came from the door, and the three girls looked up.  
  
"Oh, hi Syaoran," Sakura greeted warmly, "You're up early. We told you to wake late so we'd have time to prepare breakfast."  
  
"Your pancakes are burning," Syaoran pointed out.  
  
"Augh!" Meiling quickly ran to the stove and groaned as indeed, her pancakes were burnt black and steaming.  
  
"A new batch?" Syaoran suggested mildly, "Any help?"  
  
"You can make coffee," Sakura said pointing over to the whistling kettle, "Water's over there. I'll be finishing my oranges."  
  
Pretty soon, Eriol came downstairs, holding Tomoyo around the waist from the back and gently kissing her ear.  
  
Tomoyo giggled, "Stop it. It tickles!"  
  
"I'm hungry," Eriol announced, "How long?"  
  
"Ten minutes? You guys can get out the plates," Sakura said.  
  
"Tsk, tsk. Always ordering us men around," Syaoran said, but they weren't sure if he was joking or not, judging from his expression.  
  
"What are we going to do after breakfast?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Go pick out a Christmas tree," Eriol said, "A real one. We'll strap it on top of the Explorer and endure the pine needles pricking us, then spend the whole day decorating the house."  
  
Syaoran groaned, "You're really getting into the Christmas spirit, aren't you?"  
  
Eriol grinned, "'Course I am. Especially since I have someone to share it with. We should stop by and buy some more popcorn and string it!"  
  
Syaoran groaned again, and Sakura told him, "You're just Mr. Grinch, are you this year?"  
  
"Every year!" Touya announced from the door, in his bathrobe and slippers, obviously have just woken up.  
  
"Geez, you need to get into the Christmas spirit! I love Christmas! We should decorate the outside, too! Why don't you love Christmas, Syaoran?" Sakura asked innocently.  
  
"Ugh. He's never been one for holidays," Meiling said, "Even when we were young."  
  
Syaoran said, "Whatever. Are we going to have to buy presents?"  
  
"Ooh, we do Secret Santa every year! But it's kind of obvious who's getting who with only three people," Sakura said excitedly.  
  
Touya laughed, "Why don't we do that? I mean, obviously we need to buy some presents for each other, so why not make it easy and just buy one for one person?"   
  
Everyone agreed, and Touya said, "I'll get the stuff while you girls and guys put the breakfast on the table."  
  
Touya disappeared and the girls and two guys finished preparing breakfast and set everything in the dining table.  
  
"Touya!" Sakura hollered out in the living room and up the stairs.  
  
She fell into a quick flashback.  
  
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"Touya! Hurry up and come downstairs!" Sakura as a 7 year old was yelling up the stairs, "I don't want to be alone!"  
  
"All right! Wait one minute for me, squirt!"  
  
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Sakura blinked and shook her head.  
  
'Touya…' the name had been in her brief flashback.  
  
'Squirt? Could this be…my past?' Sakura pondered, her mind dwelling on the words she had yelled.   
  
"I'm back," Touya presented himself and sat down at the head of the table.  
  
"Take a straw and pass the rest around," Touya directed and handed Syaoran a bundle of straws.  
  
Syaoran scowled and took one and passed it to Meiling, who happily took one and gave it to Sakura, who also took one.  
  
The straws rotated around until Touya had gotten the last one.  
  
Sakura fished out a piece of paper from her straw and opened it.  
  
In Touya's lazy scrawl was the named, 'Syaoran.'  
  
Sakura smiled, "I didn't get my own."  
  
"Neither did I," everyone chimed, and Touya said, "Everyone happy? All right, let's eat breakfast!"  
  
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"I like this one," Sakura commented at a small, white tree.  
  
"It's too tiny," Touya shook his head at her and said, "Now, this one. This one's made for a man."  
  
"This ugly 9 feet tall one?" Sakura exclaimed, and made a face, "It belongs in a bachelor's apartment decorated with beer cans."  
  
Syaoran scowled, "Hurry up and pick a freaking tree."  
  
"Calm down, cuz," Meiling said, "We've only been here for 15 seconds."  
  
"What about this one?" Eriol and Tomoyo asked.  
  
They were snuggled up together, Tomoyo's head resting on Eriol's shoulder while he had his arm around her.  
  
Sakura grabbed the camera from Tomoyo's hand and quickly snapped a picture of them, and grinned, "Something to remember."  
  
"I think that's an okay tree," Meiling said, looking at the Christmas tree.  
  
It was a dark green dusted lightly with white snowflakes, and it was slightly taller than Touya, making it almost 7 feet.  
  
"It's the perfect tree!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling at it.  
  
"Eh. Let's just get out of here," Syaoran said.  
  
"We have to pay for it first," Touya rolled his eyes and shouted to one of the working men, "We'll take this one!"  
  
A man came over, weilding an axe and chopped the tree down.  
  
Touya and Syaoran grunted as they took the tree on their shoulders and headed towards the car, Sakura smiling brightly at the tree.  
  
Meiling had wandered over to the front of the lot, and spotted a bunch of mistletoe.  
  
Her eyes lit up and she asked a woman, "How much are these?"  
  
"Five dollars."  
  
"I'll take one," Meiling said.  
  
She took her wallet out from inside of her jacket and got the money out in exchange for the small bunch of green leaves and a several red berries in the middle.  
  
Meiling grinned cunningly and stuck the mistletoe inside her jacket pocket with her wallet, and returned back to the group.  
  
There was no one there, so Meiling ran over to the car, where pretty sure, everyone was loaded up and ready to go.  
  
"Where were you?" Syaoran demanded.  
  
"Ah, looking at some trees," Meiling said.  
"Mm," Syaoran grunted, and shifted gears and rolled out of the parking lot.  
  
Touya, who was sitting in the front passanger seat, leaned over to change CD's, when Syaoran's hand smacked his hand.  
  
"Hey! This is my car!" Touya protested, rubbing his hand painfully.  
  
"So? I'm driving," Syaoran said, his eyes still on the road, roaming around for pedestrians or whatever.  
  
They made a stop at the grocery store and craft store for some popcorn, string and a needle.  
  
"Do you guys have everything to decorate the tree?" Sakura asked, "Lights, ornaments, wreaths for the door and garland for the banister?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Syaoran said, "We bought a lot of stuff a long time ago but we never used it."  
  
The six people headed home and immediately set to work.  
  
The men searched for the boxes, which were found stuffed in the back of the hall closet, and the girls started popping the popcorn.  
  
Meiling snuck off when no one was looking and quickly hung the mistletoe on top of the doorway of the front door, and fastened it with a strip of tape.  
  
There. Now all she had to do was remember to never get caught with anyone under there.  
  
And it was her job to make sure everyone else did.  
  
"Hey, look. An American movie with Japanese captions. Let's watch it!" Sakura said, and held up a movie tape.  
  
"It's a Wonderful Life? Looks corny," Syaoran said, and Sakura laughed, "Shut up. I'll turn it on."  
  
Sakura hummed as she popped in the cassette, then settled down on the couch with Tomoyo to continue stringing popcorn as Meiling, Syaoran and Eriol hung up ornaments onto the tree.  
  
Touya was quickly putting lights around the tree and snapped them on.  
  
"Wow, it's beautiful," Sakura said, looking at the tree in wonder.  
  
Touya grunted in agreement, and the three that had been putting the adorments onto the tree finished and started putting garland around the staircase banister.  
  
Touya got out the wreath and headed out the door, barely noticing the mistletoe on it.  
  
He hung the wreath quickly, and took a fraction of a second to admire it, then went back in.  
  
"Brr, it's cold out there," Touya said, and looked at the sight before it.  
  
Even to him, it was heartwarming, five people happily decorating a house.  
  
Touya's eyes lingered over Sakura, pausing to think, 'Is she my sister?'  
  
He had never believed in a God, but he quickly prayed, 'God, if you're there, just for me, please let me find my sister this Christmas. I've lived enough years without her, and only you know where she is.'  
  
Feeling pleased after his short prayer, he continued to hang up various objects around the house.  
  
"Uh oh, I think we're out of popcorn. We still need three more feet of strung corn," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Didn't we have enough? Those were big bags!" Sakura said.  
  
The two girls looked at Meiling, whose cheeks were stuffed full.  
  
"We found the culprit," Sakura declared, "I'll go buy some more. Who wants to go with me?"  
  
"Syaoran will," Eriol pushed his best friend forward, who gave a surprised look at Sakura.  
  
"All right. You're paying!" Sakura sang, and put on her jacket.  
  
Syaoran followed suit, and they headed out the door together, then suddenly noticed the mistletoe on top.  
  
"Uh uh uh, you guys are caught under the mistletoe!" Meiling sang.  
  
"Who put that there?" Touya asked, narrowing his eyes at it.  
  
Syaoran froze underneath, and glanced at Sakura, who was laughing.  
  
She stood on her tiptoes and gave a short kiss to Syaoran's cheek, reddening them, and grinned impishly, "There! That wasn't so bad, was it?"  
  
Tomoyo had snapped a picture of them kissing and took another one of Syaoran's cheeks blushing red, and quickly took another one.  
  
"Let's go," Syaoran mumbled, and flew out the door, leaving Sakura to giggle at him.  
  
"Ooh!" Tomoyo teased, "Sakura's first kiss was under the mistletoe! How romantic!"  
  
Sakura pouted at her friends and said, "Shut up!"  
  
And flew out the door, calling after Syaoran, "Hey! Wait up! I don't want to walk alone!"  
  
Leaving the four remaining people laughing.  
  
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End of Chapter 6. Next chapter, 'The Competition, Christmas and Confrontation.'  
  
A/N: I was supposed to post this up yesteday, but my internet was screwed up. Ha. Anyways, this is chapter six! Wow!! Haha. I started chapter fourteen yesterday. It's getting really heated, so keep on reading. I'm finished with "Sakura's First Time", so this is the only story i'll be doing. Unless I post up the other fanfiction i've been writing...muahahaha. So, review!! The next chapter will be up exactly on the fourteenth of March. Unless my internet plays more tricks on me again. So..R-E-V-I-E-W!!!!! 


	7. The Competition, Christmas and Confronta...

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 7: The Competition, Christmas and Confrontation  
  
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22nd…day of Meiling's snowboard competition…  
  
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"Geez, these people look serious," Meiling said rather nervously.  
  
"C'mon, you know they're just fancy clothes and expensive snowboards. You can beat their butts, after all, they're just rich spoiled kids," Sakura said, smiling.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, such a brat," Tomoyo teased, sticking out her tongue.  
  
Sakura mock pouted, and said, "Ooh, look. There's a sign that says all contestants must meet at top of mountain in five minutes. The contest is starting!"  
  
"Great. I hope you do great," Eriol said to Meiling, and gave her a small hug.  
  
"Thank you, Eriol. And to you, Syaoran, for letting me do the competition. Knowing what a protective cousin you are," Meiling said slyly.  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes and scowled, "Good luck. Break a leg."  
  
Sakura squealed in disapproval, "That's only for on stage performances! You don't really want her to break a leg, do you?"  
  
Syaoran let out a tiny smile, "Maybe."  
  
He expertly ducked a swing from Meiling, and Sakura said, "You better get going. We'll cheer for you from the sidelines!"  
  
"All right. Wish me good luck!" Meiling blew a kiss to her friends and started heading up to where all the people were, snowboard in tow.  
  
The five people took a place by the ropes holding them back, Sakura squished next to Syaoran.  
  
"Meiling's amazing, isn't she?" Sakura asked Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "She gets annoying. We were engaged, once."  
  
Sakura was shocked, "What? But you guys last met when you were like nine…"  
  
"I know. We were engaged since we were two. Obviously, not anymore. I love her, but only as a younger sister. She used to adore me and follow me around everything. She's grown out of it. I think she's forgotten about the whole engagement thing."  
  
"That's crazy," Sakura said thoughtfully, "But I'm glad."  
  
"Glad about what?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura didn't get to have a chance to answer because a roaring cheer came from the other people, and they looked up.  
  
They spotted Meiling, briskly rubbing her hands together and pushing her snowboard back and forth to give herself some momentum.  
  
"Three…two…one…GO!" someone shot a gun into the air, and twenty contestants shot off like rockets.  
  
"I hope she doesn't get hurt," Sakura said, looking at Meiling's flying form in worry.  
  
"She won't," Syaoran assured, "She's too tough for that."  
  
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Meanwhile, Meiling was shooting down the mountain.  
  
She quickly passed several people, and made sure that she wasn't going to fast.  
  
Biting her lip in concentration, she slid to the side quickly to avoid crashing into a huge evergreen tree.  
  
Unluckily, two other contestants weren't so fortunate. They slammed into the tree, and Meiling winced as she heard audible cracks, and the crowd moaned in pity.  
  
There was a hill coming up, and Meiling gave herself some more momentum and pushed herself to the limit.  
  
She went flying over the mountain, and to the pleasure of the crowd and judges, jumped off the board midair and did a back flip.   
  
She landed perfectly on her board back on the ground and continued speeding.  
  
There was a curve coming up, so Meiling leaned to the side and skidded around on the wall of the curve, nearly sideways.  
  
She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and continued concentrating on the course.  
  
Meiling soon became aware that she couldn't see anyone.  
  
"Damn, they must all be ahead of me," Meiling gritted her teeth impatiently.  
  
Little did she know that she was in third place, with only two people ahead of her.  
  
She spotted a person several yards ahead of her, and grinned wickedly.  
  
Meiling gave herself as much force as she could, and sailed ahead.  
  
She found herself right next to the next contestant, and said, "Heya! How you doing?"  
  
The contestant gave her a glare and said gruffly, "Don't have time to talk."  
  
"Oh. I'll get out of your way now," Meiling said, winked at the contestant, and blew ahead.  
  
The other contestant was so surprised by her acceleration that he lost his balance, and Meiling yelled to him, "My bad" and flashed the man on the ground painfully rubbing his butt and peace sign.  
  
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"Meiling's second place!" Tomoyo said excitedly to Touya and Eriol, who were standing beside her.  
  
"She's good," Eriol said, and nudged Touya, "Isn't she?"  
  
Touya grudgingly admitted, "Eh. She's okay. For second place."  
  
"I hope she gets first," Sakura said, adding into their conversation.  
  
They continued watching, squinting their eyes at a television that had been set up outside to track each person's progress.  
  
A reporter from JSN (Japan Sports News) was saying into his mike, "And an extraordinary snowboarder named Meiling Yuki has made her way up to second place! She seems to be closing in the distance from herself and the first place winner, who was champion from last year's competition."  
  
"Did you hear that?" Sakura asked Syaoran excitedly, "Meiling's name is on the news!"  
  
"Her face will be too, if she makes first place."  
  
"Wow, my own sister's making the news!" Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran raised his eyebrow at the word sister, and said, "Sister?"  
  
Sakura smiled, "Of course. I've lived with her for thirteen years. More than half my life. A LOT more than half my life."  
  
"Mm," Syaoran said, and pondered why he never called Touya his brother.  
  
"Woo!" Sakura suddenly shrieked, nearly bursting Syaoran's left ear drum, "They're almost at the finish line! They're tied! COME ON MEILING!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Syaoran winced, but half-heartedly cheered along.  
  
He squinted at the television and saw Meiling speeding towards the finish line.  
  
He added his voice in the cheering, "Meiling! Meiling! Meiling!"  
  
"WOOH!!!!!!!" Tomoyo screamed shrilly, "SHE WON!!!!!"  
  
Indeed, Meiling had sped ahead the second before they reached the line, and broke the ribbon with her body.  
  
Meiling skidded around to a stop, breathing heavily, but raised her fists in triumph, and let out a scream, "WOO HOO!!!!"  
  
It echoed through the mountains (thank goodness it didn't cause an avalanche), and Sean Kopitski came forward with a huge gold trophy and a check.  
  
"You won this fair and square. Congratulations, Meiling. Anything you want to say?"  
  
Meiling shrugged and grinned, "I want to thank everyone who knows me! And thank you for the check and trophy!"  
  
Meiling trotted off to find her friends, and found Touya, who reluctantly shook her hand and said, "Good job. You deserved it. But I want another rematch."  
  
Meiling smirked, "You're on."  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura engulfed Meiling into a hug, and Meiling also gave Syaoran and Eriol a hug.  
  
"Congratulations. What are you going to do with the money?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Splurge!" Meiling grinned.  
  
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The party of six was at a restaurant that was on the main street.  
  
It was a quaint little cozy restaurant that served home style American food, like potpies and mulled apple cider.  
  
They settled into a booth and Meiling declared, "My treat! I'm paying for this dinner."  
  
"Um, you don't have any cash. You spent it all on your secret Santa gift at that bo--" Sakura's mouth was quickly clamped over by Meiling.  
  
Sakura smiled sheepishly, "Oh yeah. It's a secret. But you don't have any cash with you until you go to the bank and cash in the check."  
  
Meiling looked crestfallen, "Damn. I was hoping to treat everyone out to dinner for once."  
  
"It's all right. If it makes you feel better, I'll pay for this dinner. After you cash in the check back in Tokyo, you can take us out for ice cream or dinner," Sakura suggested, "I haven't done anything so far. Eriol and Syaoran have taken us out for dinner; Touya let us borrow his car to drive up here so we didn't have to rent a van."  
  
"Do you have enough money?" Tomoyo asked, knowing that Sakura usually didn't have much cash with her; after all, working as a hostess or teacher didn't pay very well.  
  
Sakura grinned, "I made my Secret Santa his/her present. That saved me some cash. Well, I'm almost done with it."  
  
"All right. We're ready to order," Syaoran told the restaurant owner, which was a plump little lady.  
  
"What do you want, honey?" she asked.  
  
They ordered their food quickly and it came out, and they feasted on food, Meiling eating the most after her tiring competition.  
  
"Do you think you'll come out in the news?" Sakura asked while chewing on a piece of pumpkin pie and milk.  
  
"Probably," Tomoyo said, "Remember that man from JSN?"  
  
"Yup," Sakura said, nodding.  
  
She took a gulp of milk to wash it down and smiled, "That was a good dinner."  
  
"I hope I come out into the news," Meiling said, "That'd be way cool!"  
  
"Thanks for the apple pie," Touya said to Sakura.  
  
She grinned, "I hope I'll treat you guys more often. I like it."  
  
Eriol suddenly cleared his throat and said, "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, but Meiling, I found a job for you."  
  
"Really? What is it? Boy, today's my lucky day!" Meiling exclaimed.  
  
"It's at the Tokyo Medical Hospital. You're going to be an aid there for one of the physiological doctors. It was the only one opened, and it'd match up to you," Eriol said.  
  
"What would I do there?" Meiling asked, not liking the sound of 'physiological'.  
  
"Well, technically you'd be working in the mental illness department. So mainly you'd probably be restraining patients or giving them medicine. It's easy, and its twelve bucks an hour, which is a good deal," Eriol explained.  
  
"Mm…is it safe? Do I get health benefits? Can I work it around my schedule? Is the doctor I'm working for hot?" Meiling shot off her questions.  
  
Eriol laughed, "Yes, yes, yes, no."  
  
"Darn. I'll take the job. When do I start?" Meiling asked, sipping her soda.  
  
"The Monday we get back," Eriol said, and pulled out a business card, "Go here. For the first day, you'll just be in training."  
  
"All right," Meiling pocketed the business card, "Thank you SO much! You just gave me the best Christmas present---a wonderful, well paying job."  
  
"You are very much welcome," Eriol said modestly.  
  
They left the restaurant, leaving a generous tip to the owner, and started for outside.  
  
"I think I'm going to walk home," Sakura said, stretching her arms out and staring at the sky.  
  
Tomoyo and Meiling exchanged mischievous glances and declared, "We're riding the car."  
  
"I'm driving. I've had enough of Eriol and Syaoran's horrible driving skills," Touya scowled.  
  
"I'm going with Tomoyo," Eriol immediately volunteered.  
  
Meiling said, a little too sweetly, "I think Syaoran has to walk Sakura home. I mean, he wouldn't just leave girl to walk home alone, would he? Think of all the dangers!"  
  
Syaoran glowered at Meiling, who had a sugar smile pasted on her face, but resigned, "All right."  
  
"We'll see you back at the house! Take your time!" Tomoyo exclaimed, and they hopped into the car.  
  
Sakura laughed and said, "I think they're up to something."  
  
Syaoran muttered, "No duh."  
  
Sakura chattered on the walk home about Christmas, Meiling and Tomoyo, and her two jobs.  
  
"Don't you think it's tiring to have two jobs?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura shrugged, "I like it. I admit, sometimes the sore feet and blisters get to me…but I feel like I've accomplished something by working hard. It doesn't pay very well, but I'm getting a good experience."  
  
"Oh," Syaoran reflected on what she said.  
  
"What do you do?" Sakura asked Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran's insides squirmed slightly, but he gazed at Sakura and said calmly, "I work at a consumer purchase business. It pays pretty well and I get a lot of time off."  
  
Which was the truth.  
  
"Lucky. That's why you have three cars, don't you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Between the three of us, seven cars. Actually, four of them are the company cars. Mine is the Lexus, Eriol's is the black Mercedes and Touya's is the Explorer," Syaoran stated matter-of-factly.  
  
It wasn't until the words were out of his mouth that he realized how snotty he sounded.  
  
He quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like a rich brat."  
  
Sakura laughed, "It's all right. I don't mind. I like hearing about the lifestyles of the rich and the famous."  
  
"We're home," Syaoran said, and opened the door for Sakura.  
  
"I'll duck in before we have to kiss again," Sakura said, and made Syaoran blush, remembering the short kiss that had happened under the mistletoe.  
  
The rest of the people were there, and Tomoyo had turned on the radio.  
  
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas…  
Just like the ones I used to know  
Where the treetops glisten   
And children listen  
to hear sleigh bells in the snow…"  
  
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Christmas morning…December the 25th…  
  
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"Wake up! Wake up!" Sakura shook Tomoyo's shoulders.  
  
"Ugh. The one morning you choose to wake up is always Christmas," Meiling groaned, slowly opening her eyes.  
  
"No duh! It's Christmas time!" Sakura nearly shrieked, and ran out to the hallway.  
  
She pounded on Syaoran's and Eriol's doors and yelled, "Wake up! Last one down stairs is a rotten egg!"  
  
She thundered downstairs, and Touya came out his room, rubbing his eyes, "What's wrong?"  
  
"We've just been Christmased," Eriol said, and groaned, "It's only six o clock!"  
  
"She wakes me up the one morning I choose to sleep in," Syaoran rolled his eyes.  
  
Nevertheless, they headed downstairs.  
  
Sakura beamed at the sight of six presents wrapped up and under the festively decorated tree.  
  
"Eggnog for everyone!" Sakura poured out a carton into six glasses and served them to everyone.  
  
"This doesn't taste that bad," Touya said thoughtfully, and gulped the glass down.  
  
"Presents!" Sakura yelped, and took the first one she could see.  
  
It was a big package and said, "This one is to Syaoran. From your secret Santa."  
  
Syaoran took it and slowly unwrapped it.  
  
It was a set of silver picture frames, and a note was attached, "I'll send you the pictures as soon as I get them developed. Especially the one with you kissing Sakura."  
  
Syaoran blushed and crumpled up the note before anyone else could read it, and cleared his throat, "Thanks, Tomoyo."  
  
"How'd you know it was me?" Tomoyo asked indignantly.  
  
"I have my ways," Syaoran smirked.  
  
"Next one is to Meiling," Sakura handed Meiling a small envelope.  
  
Meiling ripped it open, tearing the envelope to shreds.  
  
"Ooh! Three passes to my old gym's rival! Thank you so much whoever gave it to me," Meiling said happily.  
  
Touya spoke up, "It was me. I heard what happened and figured I should get you something like that. The other two are for Sakura and Tomoyo. Since they probably don't want to go to the old gym. They're yearlong."  
  
"Thank you!" Meiling reached over and gave Touya a small hug.  
  
"This is Touya's," Sakura said and handed it to Touya.  
  
"I'm guessing it's from you?" Touya asked.  
  
Sakura blushed slightly, "Guilty."  
  
Touya carefully opened it and saw a pair of knitted mittens, earmuffs, hat and scarf, each in a dark shade of gray.  
  
"I hope you like it. I'm not really good at that stuff but I managed to make it all under a week. With the help of Tomoyo," Sakura said.  
  
"Thanks," Touya said, and nodded kindly at her.  
  
"Ooh! This is mine!" Sakura picked up a small box and shook it.  
  
There was an audible rattling, and Sakura smiled, "I hope I didn't break it."  
  
She carefully ripped the wrapping paper apart and opened the box.  
  
There was a note and a pair of keys.  
  
"I hope you don't mind used gifts," Sakura read, "This is a car key?"  
  
Syaoran spoke up, "One of my cars I don't use. It's a Toyota Corolla, and its too feminine for me. You should share the car with Tomoyo and Meiling. And don't worry, it wasn't a big burden on me."  
  
"Oh thank you!" Sakura leapt up and gave Syaoran a tight hug, surprising him.  
  
"Uh, no problem," Syaoran answered, eyes down and blushing.  
  
Sakura resumed her position on the floor and picked up another gift.  
  
"To Eriol," Sakura said and handed him a heavy package.  
  
Eriol smiled and tore open the package, revealing a large yellow book…  
  
Entitled, 'Proposing to Your Girlfriend for Dummies.'  
  
Tomoyo's eyes widened at she shot a look at Meiling, who was rolling on the floor with laughter at the look on Eriol's face.  
  
"Sorry---" Meiling chortled, "I couldn't help myself. But it's a good book, eh? Hehehehe!"  
  
Eriol smiled, and said, "Sakura, get the next present."  
  
Sakura handed Eriol a tiny box, and he said, "For Tomoyo. From me."  
  
Tomoyo uncertainly took the present and unwrapped it.  
  
It was a velvet ring box, and Tomoyo pressed her hand against her mouth, "Oh."  
  
"It's not what you think it is," Eriol hurriedly said, "Open it."  
  
Tomoyo obeyed and the silk lined box revealed a plain silver ring.  
  
"It's a promise ring. I'm wearing the same one," Eriol showed Tomoyo and explained, "I just want to tell you that while I'm wearing this ring, I promise to be faithful to you, love you and that I want to take our relationship very seriously."  
  
Tomoyo's eyes were teary as she said, "Oh. So we're like engaged to being engaged?"  
  
Eriol shrugged, "If you want it to be."  
  
"I do," Tomoyo nodded, and sniffled as Eriol took the ring out of the box and slid it on Tomoyo's ring finger.  
  
"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
She grabbed Tomoyo's camera and took a picture of them hugging, rings visible.  
  
"There's something inscribed in the band," Eriol took off the ring and showed it Tomoyo.  
  
She read, "Eriol and Tomoyo's promise ring."  
  
"That's so beautiful," Sakura sighed in happiness as she watched Tomoyo and Eriol give each other another hug.  
  
"Yeah. They're so cute together," Meiling agreed.  
  
Syaoran cleared his throat, breaking up the sweet atmosphere, and said, "Well, Christmas presents is over. Time for breakfast."  
  
Touya added, "We're all cooking."  
  
And so in everyone's opinion, this was the best Christmas they had ever had.  
  
They had a wonderful Christmas breakfast, went outside to the backyard for a snowball fight (even Touya and Syaoran participated), came inside for a break with lots of hot chocolate with marshmallows, went outside for two hours of snowboarding, had lunch and dinner.  
  
Of course, the three girls didn't forget about Yuki at home.  
  
After dinner, which the three men had cooked, Sakura took the cordless phone from the kitchen and trotted over to the living room.  
  
"Hey, I'm calling Yuki to wish him a merry Christmas and see how he's doing," Sakura said.  
  
"Good idea. Oh my gosh, we haven't called him once since we came here!" Meiling clapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Ugh. I know. I feel bad. We should make it up for him and talk to him for a long time," Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura started dialing the number to their apartment back in Tokyo.  
  
After several rings, they heard someone pick up.  
  
"Yuki?" Sakura asked.  
  
It was pointless, since Yuki didn't speak, so Sakura said, "I'm guessing it's you. Well, sorry we haven't called. We've been really busy."  
  
Sakura passed to phone over to Meiling who said, "Guess what? Did you see me on TV? Well, I don't know if was on TV, but I won a snowboard competition over here! I won 1,000 dollars and this really cool trophy. What'd you do today? We're coming home in a few days, so don't worry about us!"  
  
She handed to phone over to Tomoyo, who excitedly said, "We're having a really good time! And we'll make it up to you, okay, Yuki?"  
  
She went on to tell him about the Secret Santa and all the gifts they received, and she described the cabin and the mountains and their ski lessons from the men.  
  
"Well, we've already been talking for twenty minutes, Yuki," Sakura said into the receiver, "We better go. See you in a few days!"  
  
They heard Yuki put the phone down and the dial tone, and Sakura clicked the phone off.  
  
Eriol had been watching them and asked, "Doesn't Yuki talk?"  
  
"He's not much for words," Tomoyo said, "But we communicate quite well."  
  
"I can't believe almost two weeks has passed since we've come here. I've learned how to ski and snowboard, and I got a new car. We got a new car," Sakura said happily.  
  
"We still have five more days here," Syaoran reminded, "But we got to spend two of those precious days putting the Christmas tree down and cleaning up."  
  
"All right," Meiling stated, "And then I get to start my new job."  
  
"Let's hope you keep it. Which won't be likely," Syaoran muttered, and quickly ducked from Meiling's flying fist.  
  
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December 29th…day before they're leaving…  
  
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Since they would be leaving tomorrow at noon, Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, Touya, Tomoyo and Meiling were taking down the trees and its decorations, and all of the other decorations around the house.  
  
They had had a quiet, peaceful Christmas, without any interference from anyone, especially a certain doe-eyed Shawna.   
  
Touya and Sakura were in charge of taking down the decorations upstairs, in the bedrooms and bathrooms, while Tomoyo and Eriol were sorting through the ornaments and tinsel.   
  
Syaoran was outside on a ladder, ripping off the lights from the roof and windows, and taking down the wreaths. And Meiling was in charge of the rest of the house.  
  
Sakura was upstairs in Touya's room, peeling off window decorations, standing on a ladder, while Touya vacuumed the floor that was littered with pieces of trash.  
  
Sakura finished detaching the bright transparent Christmas trees and lightly jumped down the ladder.  
  
She miscalculated her step, however, and fell onto the carpet with a big, "Oof!"  
  
"Oh crap," Sakura muttered, when she realized her chain necklace had broken, and her ring was somewhere down her shirt.  
  
"Want some help?" Touya asked, and sat down on the bed, watching Sakura perform strange antics to get her necklace out of her shirt.  
  
She finally stood up and shook it out, and the ring landed on the bed, right in front of Touya's face.  
  
Touya stared at it.  
  
His prayer had been answered.  
  
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"Where'd you get that ring?" he asked, his voice nearly cracking from emotion.  
  
Sakura looked up from string the ring back onto her chain, "Oh, long story."  
  
"I have a lot of time. And I need an explanation," Touya said.  
  
Sakura gave him a weird look and said, "Well…if you really want to know, I had it with me since I was nine. I've never really told anyone else besides Tomoyo and Meiling this…but Yuki found me unconscious and wounded on the arm in a dumpster in Tokyo. I had this ring with me, and that's all the identity I have, since I seem to have had amnesia."  
  
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You light me up and then I fall for you.   
You lay me down and then I call for you.   
  
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Touya choked, "What?"  
  
He suddenly got up and hugged Sakura so tightly she couldn't breath, and she gasped out, "Touya! What's wrong with you???"  
  
"You're my sister, Sakura. Can't you remember?" Touya choked out, "Sakura Kinomoto. Don't you know? You're my sister!"  
  
Sakura wrestled out of his grasp and stepped back quickly, fear apparent in her eyes.  
  
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Stumbling on reasons that are far and few   
I let it all come down and then sung for you.   
  
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"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked slowly.  
  
"Sakura, I told you. I lost a sister when she was nine. Emerald eyes, brown hair. Our father gave your that ring. It was our mother's, who died when you were about two or three. She loved that name and had the ring made when you were born. She wanted to give it to you when you were sixteen…" Touya trailed off.  
  
"I have no clue what you're talking about. I'm sorry, Touya. I don't have a family. It's just not possible that I could be your…sister," Sakura said.  
  
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Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
  
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"Please, Sakura," Touya pleaded, "We could do a DNA test or something. I've been looking for you the past thirteen years. Well, not exactly looking, but I've been praying that you'd drop out of the sky or something."  
  
Sakura looked at him, confused, "But…Touya, I don't remember! I don't have a god damn memory about you or anything else! Sure I might have some brief flash--" Sakura stopped.  
  
Touya looked at her, hopeful, "Sakura. I loved you. You know that. C'mon, don't you feel at least a hint of recognition? When you first met me? I have all the memories, Sakura. Just please…let me tell them to you."  
  
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I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming 'round.   
Oh pretty baby  
  
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"I'm sorry, Touya. But it wouldn't feel right. I mean, what if it turns out that I'm not your sister? And you're not my brother?" Sakura asked, stepping towards the door.  
  
She had visible tears running down her face; the emotions were too much to handle.  
  
"Just a simple DNA test, please? If you are…well then, that'd be the best Christmas present anyone could ever give me," Touya said.  
  
"No," Sakura said, sobbing, "I can't. I've lived enough years without a brother, I can survive the rest of my life."  
  
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"And I know things can't last forever   
But there are lessons that you'll never learn.   
Oh just the scent of you, it makes me hurt.   
So havin' your love makes me better. Oh…"  
  
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"Why not a DNA test? Please?" Touya pleaded, choking over his words.  
  
"I can't, Touya. Why couldn't you just show me some more proof before you made accusations like this, huh?" Sakura asked, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I can't. I lost everything after Tsu--" Touya quickly shut up.  
  
He couldn't let anyone know about Tsukiro Akatchi murdering his father.   
  
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Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming   
  
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"Tsu-what?" Sakura asked him edgily.  
  
Touya sat in stony silence for a minute, "There was a man who killed our father. Don't you know? Fujitaka Kinomoto, archaelogosist. He got killed trying to get something. Sakura, don't you remember right before I lost you? We were in a dark closet, I was holding you--"  
  
Sakura could vaguely remember that in one of her dreams…  
  
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Can you hold me?   
And never let go   
When you touch me   
And it's me that you own.   
Pretty baby,   
oh the place that you hold in my heart.   
Would you break it apart? Again   
Oh pretty baby   
  
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But she quickly shook her head, "No, Touya. Let's just be friends. Let this matter drop. This was the past. I'm looking into the future, not dwelling on what happened 13 years ago."  
  
Touya cried out, "What about me? Those sleepless nights I cried for my family? For you? How can I just let this drop when I'm this close from having someone I loved back? When I lost everything I had?"  
  
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Pretty baby, don't you leave me   
I have been saving smiles for you.   
Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
You're the one that I belong to.   
  
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"I'm sorry, Touya," Sakura said simply, sniffling, eyes red from crying.  
  
She turned around, not being able to control the flow of tears down her cheeks, and opened the door to leave.  
  
She ran into Syaoran, who had been standing there, into a hug, and she began sobbing hysterically in Syaoran's arms of comfort.  
  
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I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm   
You're the sun that breaks the storm   
I'll be all right and I'll sleep sound   
As long as you keep coming 'round.   
  
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"What's wrong? What the hell did you do to her, Touya?" Syaoran asked to Touya, who was staring at the wall stonily.  
  
"Why don't you ask her?" Touya asked coldly.  
  
He turned around and his eyes met Syaoran's, and Syaoran nearly gasped when he saw Touya's eyes wet from tears.  
  
Not in the 10 years he had known Touya, he had ever seen Touya cry.  
  
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Pretty baby, don't you leave me.   
  
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"Sakura, go downstairs. I'll be there shortly," Syaoran gently let go of Sakura and she began walking unsteadily down the stairs.  
  
"Tomoyo! Eriol! Meiling! Get to the living room quick!" Syaoran hollered as loud as he could  
  
He heard their thundering steps, and stepped into Touya's room.  
  
"Now tell me what happened. Everything."  
  
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Pretty baby, why can't you see?   
  
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Disclaimer: I don't own the song, "Pretty Baby" by Vanessa Carlton.   
End of chapter 7. Next chapter, 'Back Home'.  
  
A/N: Eh, I know it was pretty stupid to make Sakura not want the DNA test and everything. But don't worry, she'll do it later. Um...this is the end of chapter seven! Lol, I already said that. Chapter EIGHT will be up in the twentysixth (of March), but until then, please REVIEW!! I'm not getting very many reviews for this one.... :( 


	8. Back Home

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 8: Back Home  
  
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Touya scowled, and tried to wipe his eyes without showing Syaoran.  
  
He closed in eyes in pain, and said quietly to the younger man standing in front of him, "I just asked her something. Well, I confronted her about something."  
  
"And what exactly is that?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"That she's my sister."  
  
Syaoran's eyes widened slightly; Touya had barely talked about his long lost sister.  
  
"What made you think that?" Syaoran demanded.  
  
"I was suspicious. She looks exactly like my mother did in her pictures; green eyes, brown hair, that same facial structure," Touya said.  
  
"And then?" Syaoran prodded.  
  
Touya blinked, "I saw her ring. I remember it. Our mother had it made, and she passed it down to Sakura. Sakura had it on a necklace, and she says that she had it ever since she was found by Yuko or whatever that guy's name is."  
  
"Yuki," a new voice said from the doorway.  
  
Syaoran and Touya whirled around to see Meiling leaning against the doorframe casually.  
  
"What did you say?" Touya asked.  
  
He narrowed his eyes at the name 'Yuki'…it sounded vaguely familiar…  
  
"The scar."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She had a wound on her arm. She still has a slight scar. I'm assuming it's from the gun shot that scraped her arm?" Meiling said.  
  
"How'd you know?" Touya asked.  
  
Meiling shrugged, "Good intuitive. When you were staring at her in the car, her past. I did two and two and figured it out."  
  
"But why was she crying?" Syaoran asked impatiently, "Wouldn't she be glad to find her brother?"  
  
"You insensitive male-dork," Meiling said, "She can't remember anything. Her past is so sensitive to her. I mean, how would you feel if you lost all memory of nine years of your life, then suddenly this guy who you knew for two weeks suddenly said that he's your brother?"  
  
"Oh," Syaoran reflected on that for a moment, "I understand. Still…a DNA test?"  
  
Touya shook his head mournfully, "She doesn't want one. She just said that we should stay friends and forget about this ever happening."  
  
"You can't blame her," Syaoran said slowly.  
  
"Where is she?" Syaoran asked Meiling.  
  
"She was with Tomoyo and Eriol. Why?"  
  
"Eh. Just wondering," Syaoran replied, averting his eyes from Meiling's piercing gaze.  
  
"You can go talk to her, you know. You guys have a good connection," Meiling suggested.  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "Never mind."  
  
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Touya stepped out into the dark after dinner.  
  
It had been stifling, with everyone avoiding each other's looks, no one was talking and the air was clearly uncomfortable.  
  
Touya sighed and ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up.  
  
He headed out into the main street and turned into the direction of downtown in search of a drink.  
  
Touya looked at the sign in front of him, and wrinkled his nose.  
  
Tavern? Oh well.  
  
Touya walked into to door, and immediately the smell of smoke wafted up to his nose.  
  
He sat on the stool at a counter top where a bartender was wiping down the table.  
  
"Do you want anything, sonny?"  
  
"The most bitter, strongest drink you have," Touya answered.  
  
His intent was on getting as drunk as possible and drowning away all memories of that day.  
  
"Are you sure, sonny?" the man asked.  
  
Touya said, "Yes! And stop calling me sonny."  
  
"Sure, sonny. Here you go," the man poured a large bottle of clear-ish brownish into a tiny glass.  
  
Touya took it and gulped it down, ignoring the stinging burn as the bitter drink traveling down this throat.  
  
"One more," Touya said, clunking the glass back down on the table.  
  
"You sure, sonny?" the man inquired, "This is some pretty strong stuff."  
  
"I'm sure. In fact, get me a huge mug of it."  
  
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It was after midnight, and Syaoran was wide awake, his mind lolling over the past events that had happened that day.  
  
They were leaving tomorrow, and tonight was their last night at the cabin.  
  
Talk about leaving with a big bang.  
  
Syaoran yawned and stretched out his long arms and legs over the bed.  
  
He glanced over at Eriol, who was fast asleep and quietly snoring, his purplish hair tousled around his face.  
  
Syaoran quietly got up and put on his slippers and bathrobe and strolled downstairs.  
  
He decided to go out on the porch, and was surprised to see Sakura had already beat him there, lying on the fallen snow that had covered the porch.  
  
She was staring up at the sky, with tears falling down her cheeks.  
  
"Aren't you cold? It's a little late to be making snow angels," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura rolled her head over, and said wearily, "No. I can't feel anything right now."  
  
"Physically or emotionally?" Syaoran asked seriously.  
  
Sakura turned her head back at the sky, now aware of the icy snow that was soaking her hair.  
  
She'd probably catch pneumonia and have to go to the hospital, run up a terrible bill, linger several months and die.  
  
Sakura sighed.  
  
That'd be a lot better than what she was going through right now.  
  
"Well?" Syaoran asked.  
  
She had forgotten he was there, and said softly, "Both. I'm freezing my butt off. And all this stuff is too much for my mind. A hand, please?"  
  
Syaoran got up from the bench he had been sitting in and pulled Sakura up from the snow.  
  
She was shivering; the snow had finally gotten through to her.  
  
"Here," Syaoran took off his warm bathrobe and draped it over Sakura's shoulder.  
  
She gratefully said, "Thank you. I'm such an idiot."  
  
"We all are, at times," Syaoran said seriously.  
  
"Indeed," Sakura said quietly.  
  
She padded over to the living room and sat on the couch, curling up in a corner with her head resting on a cushion.  
  
"Been thinking a lot?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura turned her head to face him and nodded, "Yeah. It's just so hard sometimes. I wish…I wish I had a normal life. With a loving family, going to graduate school, have a boyfriend and a fun job with tons of friends."  
  
"None of us have normal lives. Eriol and I left Hong Kong when we were nine, Meiling did the same, and we've been living alone since then. Even before that, our lives were focused around studying and fighting. You haven't had a normal life, neither has Tomoyo. Or Touya," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura winced at the sound of his name, "It's hard."  
  
"Of course it is," Syaoran said, "But we will overcome these trials and become strong people."  
  
Sakura nodded thoughtfully and got up to give Syaoran a brief hug, "Thank you, Syaoran."  
  
Syaoran was surprised, "For what?"  
  
"For being a good friend. I'm glad you're around. It seems like I've known you forever, and there's a really good connection between us. Thank you."  
  
Syaoran said, still taken aback, "You're welcome, I guess."  
  
"Good. Now I'm going to go to sleep."  
  
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Meiling woke up at one o clock.  
  
She sat up and peered over at Sakura and Tomoyo, and both were fast asleep.  
  
"I need a drink," Meiling muttered, and went outside.  
  
She couldn't help herself, so she peeked into Syaoran's and Eriol's room.  
  
Both were sleeping heavily, with Eriol snoring lightly.  
  
"Hee hee hee," Meiling giggled softly.  
  
Meiling paused at Touya's door and opened it.  
  
Much to her surprise, the bed was still perfectly made, and no sign of Touya.  
  
"Where could he be?" Meiling thought.  
  
The answer hit her.   
  
Where else?  
  
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Meiling stomped into the tavern, and everyone's heads turned to her way.  
  
""Scuse me, have you seen a tall guy with blackish hair? Name's Touya?" Meiling hollered.  
  
"Here, sonny!" a bartender raised his hand, and Meiling headed over to him, saying, "Don't call me sonny. I'm not a guy."  
  
There was Touya, his head on the cold counter, staring glassily at his mug, which was empty.  
  
"Good god, how many of these did he have?" Meiling asked in shock.  
  
"About five or six. I tried to stop him, sonn---. Ma'am," the bartender said, "But he insisted. He did pay us."  
  
"Ugh. Touya, snap out of it!" Meiling yelled at the man in front of him.  
  
"Huh? Meiling? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Touya asked, his speech slurred.  
  
"Get up. We're going home. We're leaving tomorrow, and I'm sure you don't need to hangover that's going to come tomorrow."  
  
"No, no, I can walk by myself," Touya said, waving away Meiling's arm for support.  
  
When he got up, he staggered heavily, nearly falling down on the floor.  
  
He picked himself right up and wobbled forward, taking one step at a time.  
  
Once they were outside, Touya started singing drunkenly, "PreEtY baaaaabY doon't leaaaaave me!" he warbled, horribly off tune.  
  
"What the hell are you singing?" Meiling asked, gagging at the reeking smell of tequila from his mouth.  
  
"Why can'ttttt you seEEE?" Touya continued, lurching around.  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes in disgust, and took Touya's hand.  
  
"I'm dragging you home," Meiling said, and tugged roughly at his hand.  
  
They managed to make it home in one piece, Touya singing one of Vanessa Carlton's old songs. (Disclaimer: I don't own any of her songs, especially this one "Pretty Baby".)  
  
Meiling sighed, and sent Touya up to his room.  
  
She went to her own room and glanced at the clock.  
  
2:30.  
  
A couple more hours to sleep.  
  
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Syaoran finished loading the last duffel bag into the trunk and shut the door with a clunk.  
  
He got into the front, Sakura sitting next to him in the front passenger seat.  
  
Syaoran was driving that day, since Touya was feeling horrible with his hangover from all the alcohol he had consumed last night.  
  
They had found Touya in his room, still in his clothes and smelling like beer.  
  
He was napping in the back, stretched out in the third row, while Meiling, Tomoyo and Eriol were squished together in the second row.  
  
Tomoyo and Eriol were, as usual, snuggling together in the second row.  
  
"Are we ready to go?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yup," Tomoyo said, "We're ready to go back home."  
  
"Especially me," Sakura said, too soft for anyone to hear but Syaoran.  
  
They rolled out of the driveway, and headed back onto the freeway for the long ride home.  
  
Sakura turned on the radio, and tuned it to the nearest classical station for some peaceful, soothing music.  
  
She turned her head and leaned against the headrest of the seat, and she was staring out Syaoran's window.  
  
She inadvertently started gazing at Syaoran's handsome face.  
  
Wow. He had such a great body.  
  
It would be so nice to hug him through his cotton shirt…feel his hard body around her arms and feel his six packs.  
  
It would be heaven to run her hands through his soft hair, and to kiss those soft, velvety lips of his.  
  
To rest her head against his firm, toned chest with her arms around his torso and sigh happily.  
  
"Like what you see?" Syaoran asked, turning his head slightly to her.  
  
"Huh?" Sakura's head snapped away, "Sorry. I wasn't thinking about you. I was just kind of staring at you, you know. You know?"  
  
Syaoran laughed, a ringing sound, "I know. You looked like you were in a nice daydream."  
  
Sakura colored slightly, "I was."  
  
Syaoran smiled, "I won't ask what it was."  
  
Sakura blushed, "Thank you."  
  
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The drive home was quick, and everyone was awake by the time they rolled into the city limits of Tokyo.  
  
"Are we going to pick up my car?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
"I was actually thinking of dropping it off. I mean, I want to say goodbye to it one last time," Syaoran said, a goofy smile on his face.  
  
It took Sakura a minute to realize he was joking, and she playfully hit his head, "Hey!"  
  
"But seriously, we can go to my apartment, load the luggage into your new car, then Sakura can drive it home," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right."  
  
Syaoran continued driving, and Sakura was lost in her thoughts of a new car.  
  
Well, semi-new car.   
  
She was imagining how to decorate the inside with stuff animals, seat covers, a cute steering wheel cover, and a cute little plastic animal to put outside on her antennae.   
  
She didn't snap out of her dream world until she realized that they were in the garage of the guys' apartment.  
  
"It's parked somewhere in the back," Syaoran said, peering out into the darkness of the underground garage, looking somewhere for his car.  
  
"There it is. I've barely used it since I bought it, it only has about 200 miles on it. Plus, there's a card for six free oil changes," Syaoran explained.  
  
"Ooh. It's so beautiful. So feminine," Sakura saw, in obvious contentment at the mid-sized silver Toyota Corolla.   
  
"Thanks," Syaoran said, rather sarcastically.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Whatever."  
  
Syaoran parked the huge Explorer next to the smaller car and let out Sakura, who was digging through her backpack for the keys.  
  
She found them, and clicked the little remote, making the lights on the back of the car flash.  
  
"It's unlocked!" Sakura exclaimed gleefully, and quickly opened the door.  
  
Sakura released the trunk door to let the men put the girls' luggage in.  
  
After the three chaps (Chaps! Like my word?) put everything in, Meiling got into the front passenger seat and Tomoyo in the back.  
  
Eriol and Touya disappeared into the Explorer, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone.  
  
"Thank you so much for this car. This is absolutely the best Christmas that I've ever had. Thank you," Sakura gave Syaoran a big hug, squeezing him under her slender arms.  
  
"Uh…your welcome," Syaoran squirmed.  
  
"All right! I guess I'll see you around," Sakura smiled at him, and waved as she got into the front seat.  
  
"Hmm," Sakura murmured to herself, "Let's start this baby up."  
  
Sakura put in the key and turned on the engine, and the car purred softly as she changed from parking to reverse.  
  
"Steady now. You haven't driven in a long time," Meiling reminded.  
  
"Yeah. A LONG time," Tomoyo said nervously.  
  
"It's all right. There's nothing to it!" Sakura said, trying to ease them.  
  
They drove out of the garage and into the main street without any incident.  
  
They made it to their apartment with only one accident, which was almost hitting a pedestrian.  
  
"Ah, we're home," Sakura breathed in the familiar scent of their apartment lobby.  
  
They were lugging the bags and backpacks up to their floor, and Meiling quickly let go of one her duffel bags and knocked on the door.  
  
There wasn't an immediate answer, so Sakura hollered, "Yuki!! We're home!"  
  
They waiting several more minutes, and slowly the door creaked open.  
  
There stood Yuki, grinning at them.  
  
"Hey, Yuki!" Tomoyo was the first to give the tall skinny man a hug, and they dragged their bags into the spotless house.  
  
"Long time no see. We brought presents for you!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
Meiling took off her backpack and got out three packages.  
  
"This one's from me," Meiling said, and pushed forward a big package.  
  
Yuki smiled shyly, and tore the wrapping paper slowly.  
  
It was a collection of huge books, labeled, 'Shakespeare's Greatest Books'.  
  
"I figured I should give you something you like, and you like reading, I got you these at the bookstore up there," Meiling explained.  
  
Yuki nodded calmly at her in gratitude, and Sakura handed him another package.  
  
Yuki opened it again, and it was gift box from a men's clothing shop.  
  
He lifted the top up and it revealed a knitted sweater.  
  
"I didn't know what else to get you," Sakura admitted, "So I got you that. I hope you like it."  
  
Yuki nodded at Sakura, smiling, and took the next box from Tomoyo, which was a pair of shoes.  
  
"Well, we're going to get settled back in," Sakura said, "Unpacking, you know."  
  
"I'm going to run down to the corner drugstore and get these pictures developed," Tomoyo said, waving around three rolls of film.  
  
"All right. And I'm going to take a nap here," Meiling yawned and patted the ground.  
  
"Are you doing anything today, Yuki?" Sakura asked.  
  
Yuki shrugged, but shook his head.  
  
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"Uh oh. I got a call from Tsukiro," Touya slammed down the phone.  
  
Syaoran winced.  
  
He had completely forgotten about his assignment for the last two weeks.  
  
"What'd he say?" Eriol asked, rummaging through the fridge.  
  
He found a cold beer and popped the can and drank it.  
  
"A meeting with him and us three, pronto. He's expecting us in twenty minutes, and no more."  
  
"He sounds serious," Syaoran said glumly.  
  
"No shit," Eriol said, "God, I get scared of him sometimes. He could kill us like that," Eriol snapped his fingers.  
  
"Mm," Touya nodded, remembering painfully what had happened to his father.  
  
"Well, let's get going," Syaoran said.  
  
He stopped what he had been doing and walked towards the foyer to put on his shoes and jacket.  
  
The other two men did the same, and they walked out the door, dreading what would happen next.  
  
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"Hello, Touya. Eriol, Syaoran," Tsukiro Akatchi nodded at the three men who walked into their boss's office.  
  
"Hello, sir," the three men bowed respectfully.  
  
Tsukiro took out a cigar and lit it quickly.  
  
He took a long drag, and he seemed to enjoy the anticipation of his three best workers.  
  
"Well, Syaoran. I was just going to call you to this meeting, but I decided to add Touya and Eriol. You will be including them in your assignment. Since you can't seem to get anything done," Tsukiro said.  
  
He blew out a ring of smoke, and Syaoran said, "Thank you, sir. I'll try to do my best with Touya and Eriol."  
  
"All right. That's it," Tsukiro said.  
  
They left to office, nodding at the five scary bodyguards standing defense at the door.  
  
"Whew," Syaoran sighed in relief as they got into Eriol's Mercedes.  
  
"What assignment is he talking about?" Touya demanded.  
  
"Huh? Oh. I didn't tell you?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Nope. Now explain everything."  
  
On the drive home, Syaoran clarified what they were supposed to do.  
  
"So we're supposed to get the disc or the weird white man?" Eriol asked.  
  
"I'm guessing both. If we can't get a hold of the disc, we might as well get the man," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right. I'll start one the project," Eriol nodded.  
  
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New Year's Eve…  
  
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"Ooh! There they are!" Sakura waved over to Syaoran and Eriol, and Touya, who was lagging behind.  
  
"Happy New Year's Eve!" Sakura exclaimed happily.  
  
"Wow, a whole new year coming. Amazing," Eriol said, looking into Tomoyo's eyes.  
  
Her heart nearly skipped a beat, and Meiling said, "Oh, enough with the mushy stuff. Two more hours until the ball drops."  
  
"Only?" Tomoyo asked, "It's 10 already?"  
  
"Duh," Sakura said, but she shivered, "It's cold out here."  
  
"Do you want my jacket?" Syaoran asked, taking his off already.  
  
"Oh no--well, since you offered," Sakura grinned and she snuggled into Syaoran's large coat.  
  
They were standing in the middle of Tokyo Memorial Square, and were waiting for midnight and the ball to drop.  
  
Sakura yawned, "I'm tired."  
  
"Me too. I've been on the computer all day," Eriol said, and he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"What were you doing all day?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Work. Researching some stuff," Eriol said, shrugging.  
  
"Oh, don't work so hard. It's vacation!" Tomoyo said.  
  
Eriol smiled wryly, "I know."  
  
The two hours flew by, with Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Eriol and Meiling chatting happily while Touya was lurking around them, bored.  
  
"Two more minutes!" Meiling cheered, looking at the big clock.  
  
"Now one minute and fifty eight seconds!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
Syaoran laughed, and Sakura grinned.  
  
The crowd at the square had gotten larger, and Sakura was squished up next to Syaoran.  
  
"One minute and twenty nine seconds!" Sakura said.  
  
"And now a minute and twenty seven," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura smiled at him, and continued looking at the clock.  
  
The minute whizzed by, and soon the crowd was shouting, "Five!"  
  
"Four!"  
  
"Three!"  
  
"Two!"  
  
"One!"  
  
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The ball dropped and exploded, showering the multitude of people with confetti.  
  
Sakura impulsively stood on her tip toes and kissed Syaoran on the cheek, confetti floating around their shoulders, and said, "Happy new year, Syaoran!"  
  
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Next Monday…Meiling's first day of her new job…  
  
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Meiling straightened her tie and asked Sakura, who was hovering next to her, "Does this look okay? Do I look like a nurse?"  
  
"An assistant, you dork. Hm," Sakura scrutinized Meiling's outfit.  
  
Meiling was wearing silver glasses, a white collared shirt and a pair of gray slacks.  
  
She had a gray tie on with a small silver pin attached on it, and her hair was tied back neatly.  
  
"You look like a business woman," Tomoyo said, "But won't they give you a uniform?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Most likely," Meiling agreed, "But I'm going with this outfit. Oh, Sakura, can I take your car?"  
  
Sakura laughed, "You don't need to ask me. It's your car too. And yes, you can."  
  
"Oh yeah. I finally cashed in the check. Want to go out to dinner tonight?" Meiling asked.  
  
"What about lunch?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Lunch? That sounds good. A late lunch?"  
  
"I'm fine with that," Tomoyo said, "Eriol will pick me up. Where and what time should we meet?"  
  
"All right. How about the King's Garden again? They have a good lunch," Meiling suggested.  
  
"You're treating us out. One o clock is good with me. That's right at the end of my gym class," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. I'll have Syaoran pick you up," Meiling said.  
  
Sakura blinked for a minute, "Oh. All right. Does he know where the school is?"  
  
"He'll figure it out," Meiling said.  
  
She looked at her watch and almost squealed, "I'm going to be late!"  
  
She grabbed a jacket and ran out of the apartment.  
  
Sakura called after her, "Okay!!"   
  
Tomoyo laughed, "Don't worry. I'll call Syaoran and remind him to pick you up."  
  
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Meiling quickly drove the car to the hospital, Tokyo Medical Hospital.  
  
She found her way to the mental health department, and asked a person, "Excuse me? Where can I find Dr. Hanako Fumiyo?"  
  
"That's me," a deep voice came from behind her, and Meiling whirled around, facing a tall, broad chested man.  
  
"Hi, I'm Meiling Li. I'm supposed to be the new assistant?" Meiling asked.  
  
She looked up at Hanako's handsomely chiseled face, and he answered, "Yes, you are. In fact, you'll be working under me. I'm going to let you tag along me today and see what I do. Tomorrow, you'll start helping me. I understand you have some physical education?"  
  
"Black belt in karate when I was eight, sword fighting since I was five, and I worked in a gym for a couple of months as an advisor," Meiling said.  
  
"Impressive," Hanako said, "Very impressive."  
  
"Thanks," Meiling shrugged, "So can we get started?"  
  
"Yes. Follow me," Hanako started walking briskly down the hall, Meiling following behind.  
  
"First I have to check up on my newest patients. Their families seem to think they have some disorders, it's pretty sad. Afterwards, I got to check on my other patients who are on lockdown and see if they have any progress. I'll be needing a lot of help there," Hanako explained.  
  
"All right," Meiling nodded.  
  
They walked into a quieter part of the building, when Meiling suddenly asked, "Do I need to wear a uniform?"  
  
Hanako laughed, "Not if you want to. Well, actually, we prefer you assistants wearing white clothes. A pair of white pants and white shirt?"  
  
"Oh, all right. I'll have to go shopping tonight," Meiling made a mental note.  
  
Hanako chucked, and Meiling realized she had been talking out loud.  
  
"All right. This may be slightly traumatizing, but please be still and just watch," Hanako advised.  
  
Meiling nodded, and watched as he walked to a quiet couple.  
  
Meiling listened to his conversation, "Hello. How are you doing? I understand you checked in your daughter, Kimi Nosoti?"  
  
The man nodded, "Yes. Ever since a couple of months ago, she started…changing."  
  
"In what ways?" Hanako asked.  
  
"She started acting childish for about a month. You know, asking what was going on, wanting her mother to sing to her and sleep with her."  
  
"And then?"   
  
"She snapped out of it, and got serious. She shaved her head and started wearing black lipstick. Her speech was perfectly fine, but she said she needed to do those things," the mother said.  
  
Meiling winced, that didn't sound too good.  
  
Hanako continued to talk with the couple, and Meiling paid close attention.  
  
She couldn't help but admire the way he was so calm and rigorous.   
  
Hanako finished up the conversation, and they left.  
  
"So you're going to put her in?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Yes. I think it's a mild case, though. There's been worse," Hanako said.  
  
Meiling nodded.  
  
The rest of the day, she followed Hanako around and watched him do his work.  
  
At one point, a young teen started fighting Hanako as he tried to talk to him.  
  
Hanako received several blows to the face until Meiling managed to grab the boy and wrestle him down to his room.  
  
"You should take some martial arts or self defense classes," Meiling said, looking at Hanako who was painfully rubbing his cheek.  
  
"Eh, I'm more of a academic person than physical. I hated gym, I'll admit that," Hanako explained.  
  
"What time is it?" Hanako asked.  
  
"Oh, twelve forty five. Oh, darn! I have a lunch date with my friends--do I get any time off?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Yep. We eat lunch whenever we have time in between check ups and appointments. But since this is your first day, be back by three," Hanako said.  
  
"Thank you!" Meiling exclaimed, and said, "All right! See you!"  
  
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Sakura was in the middle of class outdoors in the parking lot drilling the students on a jump rope exercise.  
  
It was cold outside, after all, it was the first week of January.  
  
"All right, lift those arms and count! One!" Sakura exclaimed loudly, "Come on!"  
  
The scraggly group of sophomores half-heartedly did their drills, and Sakura glanced at her watch.  
  
"Um, there's a guy. I think he wants you," a voice came from the group.  
  
Sakura looked up and saw the girl pointing behind her.  
  
Sakura turned around and saw Syaoran standing in the parking lot next to his silver Porsche, and a guy from the class whistled and hollered, "Nice car, man!"  
  
"Oh, hi, Syaoran. Aren't you a bit early?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran looked down at his Rolex watch and said, "Oh. I guess I am, aren't I?"  
  
"Oh, well. You can watch me wonderfully teach my class," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran chuckled, "That I will do."  
  
A girl raised her hand, and Sakura asked, "Yes, Katelyn?"  
  
The ditzy girl asked, "Um, like, since you have a date and all, can we like just go inside now? We, like, won't tell the principal, or like whatever."  
  
Sakura laughed, "All right. In the winter spirit, run two laps around the track, do six pushups and you guys can go in and change."  
  
The class groaned, but Sakura grinned humorously at them and stuck out her tongue.  
  
"Can you give me two minutes for me to change?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sure," Syaoran said.  
  
He waited the two minutes while Sakura ran inside to change, and she came out in fresh clothes.  
  
"All right. Let's go," Syaoran said.  
  
"Okay!" Sakura said, and they climbed into Syaoran's car.  
  
They quietly drove to the King's Garden restaurant, where they saw Touya, Meiling, Tomoyo and Eriol already waiting for them at the entrance.  
  
"Hey!" Sakura greeted everyone with a nod, and said, "I'm ready to eat. I hope you brought a lot of cash, Meiling."  
  
"I did. Oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell you about my job!" Meiling gushed.  
  
They walked into the restaurant, and they were seated a table by a waiter, which was fortunately not the last waiter who had asked Sakura out.  
  
They were given menus, and they quickly picked out what they wanted to drink and eat, and when the waiter left, they started talking.  
  
"Okay. I went there, right? And then I asked somebody where Hanako Fumiyo was, right?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Right…" they answered.  
  
"And then this deep voice from behind me was like, 'I'm right here.' And then I whirled around, and there he was," Meiling said dramatically.  
  
"Who?" Sakura asked, clueless.  
  
"The doctor, you idiot," Meiling said playfully, but continued, "Anyways, he was really hot, Eriol. You were SO wrong! Anyways, I followed him around and saw what he was doing and everything. And I got to go back later. But anyways I don't have to have a uniform. I just got to buy tons of white clothes!"  
  
"Sounds great," Tomoyo said sincerely, "This is going to be a great experience for you."  
  
"I know! I like it! And Hanako doesn't know how to fight, either! So basically I'm just giving medicine, and maybe wrestling down some patients," Meiling said happily.  
  
"That's cool. Oh, by the way, Touya, I'll do it," Sakura said, glancing at the sullen man.  
  
He perked up, "What?"  
  
"I'll do the DNA test."  
  
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End of chapter 8. Next chapter, 'Test and Results'.  
  
A/N: Haha. Well, you knew I'd make her do. I just made her refuse so that I move the story along a little. Well, please review!! Next chapter, chapter 9, will be up on the 5th of April, which is a Saturday. I'm going to be posting these every week and a half so that I'll be done by the summer. I haven't had time to write lately, but I'm on chapter fourteen right now. It's wrapping up, I'm guessing it'll end on chapter fifteen or sixteen. But for now, REVIEW!!! 


	9. Test and Results

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 9: Test and Results  
  
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"What?!" everyone asked in unison.  
  
"I'll do it," Sakura repeated.  
  
"You didn't tell us anything about this," Meiling said accusingly.  
  
Sakura shrugged apologetically, "Sorry. I was thinking about it…and what have I got to lose?"  
  
"You made a good choice, Sakura," Touya said, blinking furiously.  
  
"Do you have something in your eye?" Sakura asked, concerned.  
  
"Tears of joy," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura grinned, and said, "It's a late Christmas present."  
  
"An unexpected one," Eriol said under his breath.  
  
"Ooh, speaking of Christmas, I brought the developed pictures!" Tomoyo said.  
  
She took out three thick envelopes and opened the first one.  
  
Taking out the stack of pictures, she passed them to Eriol who was sitting next to her.  
  
She took the next stack and handed them to Syaoran.  
  
He flipped through them, pausing at the last one, which was the one with Sakura kissing him.  
  
He blushed as he remembered the other kiss Sakura had given him on New Year's.  
  
Syaoran took the double copies of the picture and stuck them in his jacket pocket.  
  
"Don't you think I want one?" Sakura asked, talking in his ear.  
  
"Augh!" Syaoran jumped up, and Sakura quickly apologized, "Sorry. Didn't think I'd scare you."  
  
"Uh, it's okay. Here, take it," Syaoran shoved one of the pictures to Sakura.  
  
Sakura smiled, "Thanks."  
  
"I have all the negatives, so I can definitely make more copies of the pictures," Tomoyo said loudly.  
  
Syaoran winced, and tucked the picture in more securely.  
  
The rest of the lunch went smoothly, with Touya seeming to be more talkative and cheerful.  
  
"So when do you want to do the test?" Touya asked Sakura.  
  
She blinked, "Oh. Don't we have to go to a specialist or anything?"  
  
Touya shook his head, and said rather bashfully, "I bought a kit from the internet. It's just a couple of cotton swabs and tubes. I just have to send them in, and the results will come back."  
  
"Prepared, weren't you?" Meiling nudged him.  
  
Touya blushed, "More like eager."  
  
"Are you sure the results are going to be accurate? I mean, if you bought them off the internet…" Sakura trailed off.  
  
"They're from the National Genetics Institution. I think that makes them pretty accurate," Touya said.  
  
"Oh. How about we go to my house and do them tonight? I get off of work at six," Sakura said.  
  
"Okay. I don't know where it is," Touya said.  
  
"I'll take you," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right. Because Tomoyo and I are going on a date…" Eriol said.  
  
"When don't you go on dates?" Meiling rolled her eyes.  
  
"Shut up," Tomoyo blushed.  
  
She played with the ring Eriol had given her absently, and they finished up their dinner.  
  
"Want me to drive you to the restaurant?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
She smiled, "No, it's okay. I can walk there from here."  
  
"Take care to not slip on those ice patches," Syaoran warned, and Sakura laughed.  
  
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"Is this the house?" Touya asked, looking at the tall apartment building in distaste.  
  
"Yeah. Now get your stuff and let's get in," Syaoran said, parking the car and turning off the engine.  
  
He got out of the car, and said, "Tomoyo and Eriol are at our house, aren't they?"  
  
Touya nodded, "Yeah. Hey, wait for me!"  
  
Touya followed Syaoran into the building, and Syaoran started climbing up the stairs.  
  
"Don't they have an elevator?" Touya puffed, wiping his sweating brow.  
  
"Aw, shut up. I thought you were fit," Syaoran said.  
  
"Yeah, but not fit enough to climb a hundred flights of stairs!" Touya groaned.  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes.  
  
He stopped and said, "Here we are."  
  
Syaoran raised his fist and knocked on the door.  
  
"Hi!" Sakura opened the door.  
  
"Come on in," Meiling hollered from inside.  
  
Sakura led the way in, and she seated the two men on the couch.  
  
"Do you guys want some tea or coffee?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Water," Touya said.  
  
Syaoran nodded, "Same here."  
  
Sakura went and got them two glasses of water, and handed it to them.  
  
The four of them sat on the couch, quiet.  
  
"Um, so I guess you want to get started?" Touya broke the silence.  
  
"Yeah! So what do I do?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Here," Touya handed her a cotton q-tip.   
  
"Um, okay," Sakura took it and stared at it.  
  
Touya fumbled as he got out a glass vial with a vacuum sealed lid.  
  
"Just put the swab in your mouth and get some saliva on it," Touya said.  
  
Sakura stuck the q-tip into her mouth and then took it out.  
  
She put it into the glass vial and Touya quickly shut it.  
  
"That's it," Touya said.  
  
"Oh. That was easy," Sakura said brightly.  
  
"Um, Touya, could you come look at our sink faucet? I have a feeling it might be broken," Meiling lied, desperate to get Touya and herself away so that Sakura and Syaoran might have some time alone together.  
  
"Huh? Okay," Touya got up and trailed Meiling into the hallway.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran sat in the living room in silence.  
  
"Um, this is too uncomfortable want to go outside? I have a feeling Meiling might be spying on us," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran laughed, "All right."  
  
They grabbed their jackets and headed downstairs, and out into the brisk cold.  
  
"There's a playground right behind this building. We could go sit there," Sakura suggested.  
  
"I don't mind," Syaoran said.  
  
They slowly made their way to the back, where a child's playground with a slide and pair of swings was.  
  
"I used to play here with Meiling and Tomoyo when we were younger. We loved it here," Sakura said.  
  
She leisurely walked over to a swing and sat down on it, Syaoran copying her.  
  
They slowly swung back and forth, and Syaoran asked, "Do you regret it?"  
  
"Regret what?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Doing the test," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura sighed heavily, "I don't know. I don't want to regret. I try to not regret things I do. But a part of me is scared."  
  
"Of what? The results?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah. I think I'm more scared of Touya not being my brother, than finding out that he is," Sakura said.  
  
"Why?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I guess…because I'll be let down and disappointed. I can't help but get my hopes up, you know?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Uh huh…" Syaoran nodded thoughtfully.  
  
Sakura smiled, "Every time we're alone together, we have a great physiological discussion."  
  
Syaoran laughed, "I know. You're a good shrink."  
  
"Me, the shrink? You're the one asking all the questions!" Sakura giggled.  
  
She said, "Push me."  
  
"Huh?" Syaoran gave her a quizzical look.  
  
"I mean, push me on the swing. Come on, up, up," Sakura ordered.  
  
Syaoran smiled good naturedly and got up.  
  
He walked around Sakura and started pushing Sakura, making her swing back and forth.  
  
"You're so light," Syaoran commented, and Sakura blushed, "No I'm not. Maybe you're just heavy."  
  
Syaoran mock-pouted, and gave Sakura one big push.  
  
She flew up into the black sky, and swung back down.  
  
Sakura pumped her legs quickly and closed her eyes, her hair flying out behind her.  
  
The breeze felt wonderful on her face, and she yelled to Syaoran, "Come on, you try!"  
  
Syaoran sat down on the swing cautiously, and sent himself flying.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran swung in sync for awhile, and Sakura said, "Isn't this fun?"  
  
Syaoran blushed slightly, "Yeah. I haven't been on a swing for awhile. Actually, I don't think I really went on swings when I was younger."  
  
"So you grew up with Touya? Was he a good father?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "Well…it was more like three brothers living together. When I was younger, I did look up to Touya a bit. But I was more independent."  
  
Sakura nodded, "I miss having a family…not that I can remember anything."  
  
"Me too. I missed having a father. But I got over it," Syaoran said.  
  
"Sakura! Syaoran! What are you guys doing down there?" they heard a voice call.  
  
They looked up, and saw Meiling's head bobbing out of the window.  
  
Sakura laughed, "We'll be up in a second!"  
  
She slowed the swing down and jumped off it, "Let's go."  
  
"All right," Syaoran got off his swing and winced, "That swing was too small for my butt."  
  
Sakura started laughing hilariously, "That's the first time I heard you say butt! Hehe!"  
  
Syaoran chuckled, and said, "I'll race you up!"  
  
"You're on!" Sakura started running while Syaoran yelled after her, "Hey! That's not fair!"  
  
When they arrived back in the apartment, their stomachs were hurting from laughing too much and they were panting.  
  
"What'd you guys do, chase each other around?" Touya looked down at them lying on the floor.  
  
"Something like that," Syaoran wheezed.  
  
"I swear, Syaoran. I've never seen you act like this," Touya said, and looked at Sakura.  
  
He smiled and said, "And I think it's a good change."  
  
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A week later…Saturday  
  
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"Quick, call everyone and tell them to meet at the café across the bookstore on 18th street," Touya said into the phone.  
  
"Eh? All right. What time?" Eriol asked sleepily from his bed.  
  
"Like right now. I already called Syaoran, and he's on his way from the gym. Meet me in five minutes?" Touya said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Eriol closed his cell phone, and groaned.  
  
He opened it back up and speed dialed Tomoyo's cell phone number.  
  
He glanced at the clock, and was surprised to see that it was already 9.  
  
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"That was Eriol," Tomoyo announced, closing her cell phone, "We're supposed to be at the café at 18th street in five minutes. Apparently Touya has some important news to share with us."  
  
Sakura stood up, "The results from the test! That must be it!"  
  
Meiling's jaw dropped, "Already?"  
  
"It's been a week. C'mon, hurry up!" Sakura quickly got up and changed.  
  
She yelled to Yuki, who was watching TV in the living room, "We'll be back in twenty minutes! With the results!"  
  
Of course, they had filled in  
  
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The six people met in the café, and Touya was holding a large envelope.  
  
"Are those the results?" Sakura asked nervously.  
  
Touya nodded silently.  
  
"Okay. Open it," Sakura said.  
  
She squeezed Meiling's and Tomoyo's hands and she watched Touya quietly rip open the envelope.  
  
A piece of paper fluttered out, and Touya picked it up.  
  
He cleared his throat, "Ahem. Dear Mr. Touya Kinomoto. We have processed your DNA sample and Ms. Sakura Yuki's sample. It appears that indeed you share DNA, and are direct brother and sister…"  
  
Touya dropped the paper.  
  
Sakura blinked.  
  
"Congratulations," Tomoyo said softly.  
  
"Yeah, congratulations," Eriol said.  
  
"Sakura? Sakura?" Meiling waved her hands over Sakura's glazed face.  
  
"Huh?" Sakura quickly snapped out of it, "Oh."  
  
"Um, we're going to go outside," Tomoyo quickly said, "You two can be alone for awhile."  
  
Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling and Syaoran exited, leaving Sakura facing Touya inside the café.  
  
Ironically, the song 'Pretty Baby' by Vanessa Carlton was playing on the speakers.  
  
"So…I guess what you said was true," Sakura said softly.  
  
Touya nodded, "It's kind of weird to see it written down like that."  
  
"Yeah…but I'm sorry, Touya," Sakura said.  
  
"Sorry for what?" Touya asked.  
  
"Sorry that I can't remember anything. Hell, I didn't even believe that you were my brother. For causing you so much pain…"  
  
"It's okay. You're here now. I hate myself for have letting you go like that. And I should've known earlier."  
  
"It's not your fault," Sakura said.  
  
"I hate to admit it, but I know."  
  
Sakura nodded slowly, and they sat in silence again.  
  
"Tell me some memories," Sakura said.  
  
"Well…our mother died when you were about six, I think. She was beautiful. Nadeshiko Kinomoto. She was a model, and you look exactly like her," Touya started.  
  
"Do you have any pictures?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
"No…" Touya said.  
  
Sakura looked crestfallen, "Oh."  
  
"I'm sorry. I lost everything Father died. His name was Fujitaka Kinomoto. He was tall, had brown hair and glasses. He looked somewhat like Eriol. He was an archaeologist. You absolutely adored him."  
  
Sakura smiled, "He sounds nice."  
  
"He was. His birthday was on the 3rd," Touya said softly.  
  
Sakura bit her lip, "I'm sorry."  
  
Touya waved it away, "Anyways, you were about to enter 4th grade. I would be going to 10th grade. We lived in a small house and you used to roller blade to school. I rode my bike with Yukito."  
  
"Yuki?" Sakura asked.  
  
Touya shook his head, "No…Yukito Tsukishiro. I used to call him Yuki, though. That was my nick name for him."  
  
"Oh. What happened to him?" Sakura asked, suspicious.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know what happened to anything after Father died. I'm surprised they didn't file a missing person's report."  
  
"Oh. I live with a guy named Yuki," Sakura said carefully.  
  
"So I heard," Touya said.  
  
"Well, actually, we named him…so he couldn't be your friend. Snow Bunny, white moon. Snow moon?" Sakura mumbled.  
  
"Okay," Touya laughed, "Did you know I can play the piano?"  
  
"Really? Who taught you?" Sakura asked, intrigued.  
  
"Mother did. When you were born, I was jealous of you. So our mother taught me the piano. It was our special time together."  
  
Sakura looked at Touya wistfully, "It sucks I can't remember anything."  
  
"Maybe you will. Someday, you might," Touya said.  
  
"I don't think we look alike," Sakura said thoughtfully, looking at Touya.  
  
She examined his tousled black hair and his intense blackish eyes.  
  
"Nope," Touya said cheerfully, "But you look like my mother."  
  
Sakura smiled, "I'm glad."  
  
"Um, I think those four are getting worried. Want to go outside?" Touya asked.  
  
"Sure," Sakura said.  
  
They got up and made sure the bill was paid, and started heading out the door.  
  
Sakura slipped her hand into Touya's and said, "Thank you, oniichan."  
  
Touya looked surprised, "No. Thank you. I used to call you a little monster."  
  
Sakura laughed, "I'm not surprised."  
  
When they walked out of the café hand in hand, everyone was mildly shocked.  
  
"So…you two have a nice time?" Syaoran asked, not being able to keep his eyes off Sakura and Touya's hands interlocked.  
  
"Yeah," Sakura said, "We had a nice talk."  
  
"Mm," Syaoran commented.  
  
He was trying to ignore the fact that his heart was pumping rapidly, and the fact that he was envious of Sakura holding Touya's hand.  
  
They were brother and sister, and they had every right to do so…  
  
But why was Syaoran getting so…jealous?  
  
"Hey, I got to go home. I'm sorry, baby, but I have some work to do. I have to still catch up on some work I didn't get to do during our vacation," Eriol said to Tomoyo.  
  
"Oh…well, I guess you can mee--I mean, we can get together later," Tomoyo said sweetly.  
  
She turned to the rest of the group and said, "You guys want to come to our house for some tea?"  
  
She winked at Meiling, who nodded excitedly, "Yeah!"  
  
"Those two are up to something," Syaoran muttered under his breath.  
  
They split up into groups and the girls rode back to their house in Sakura's car, while Touya and Syaoran followed in their own cars.  
  
They arrived back at the apartment building and started climbing the stairs.  
  
When they reached their floor, Tomoyo and Meiling grabbed hold of Sakura and covered her eyes.  
  
"Syaoran, open the door," Meiling directed.  
  
Sakura slowly walked into the apartment door, and Tomoyo and Meiling let go of her.  
  
"AUGH!!! TOBY!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura shrieked, and ran into the arms of a handsome, tall blonde.  
  
Syaoran and Touya exchanged looks, 'Toby?'  
  
They got a closer look at the newcomer.  
  
He was tall, and had rugged blonde hair and blue eyes. As in, he was American.  
  
He was tanned and looked every bit like a California beach boy, and he had an arm around Sakura, which both Syaoran and Touya wanted to chop off. The arm, not Sakura.  
  
"Touya, Syaoran," Sakura said, breathless, "This is Toby Mawasomi. He's from America. He was my best friend in junior high. Well, other than Meiling and Tomoyo, I mean."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Touya said curtly, and held out a hand for Toby to shake.  
  
"Hey!" Toby grinned, flashing his 1000-watt smile at Touya, and shook his hand.  
  
"This is Syaoran. He's Meiling's cousin. And this is Touya…my brother," Sakura introduced.  
  
Toby raised his eyebrows, "Brother, eh?"  
  
"Yeah. Why don't we all sit down and talk?" Sakura suggested, "While we get you guys some tea."  
  
"Water would be fine," Syaoran and Touya said.  
  
"Coke for me," Toby said.  
  
Meiling raised an eyebrow, "All right. We'll drink the tea."  
  
Five minutes later, they were all settled down on the couch and were sipping their drinks.  
  
"So, tell me about you two," Touya said suspiciously.  
  
"Oh. We met in sixth grade. I liked her," Toby laughed, "But she wouldn't have anything to do with me."  
  
Syaoran grinned on the inside, bur Toby continued on, "And so we just decided to be friends. Meiling and Tomoyo decided that they liked me, and throughout junior high and high school, us four were best friends."  
  
"Interesting. None of them mentioned you," Syaoran said.  
  
Toby laughed, "Probably not. I went to America for college, back where I came from. I was adopted by my Japanese parents. Therefore, my Japanese surname. I work for Newsweek."  
  
"You never told me you were stopping by!" Sakura said.  
  
"We wanted it to be a surprised. He's staying here for a week between planes from Bahrain and New York," Meiling explained.  
  
"Mm," Touya said, "Where are you going to sleep?"  
  
Toby shrugged, "Here."  
  
Touya nearly choked, "What?"  
  
"I don't see what's so wrong with that," Meiling objected, "I mean, he's stayed at our house for days back in junior high and high school."  
  
"Don't you have any other friends?" Syaoran asked pointedly.  
  
Toby laughed, "Nobody liked me because I was too blond. The girls did, and that gave the guys more reasons to hate me. Oh, Sakura, show them this."  
  
Toby took a small picture out from his wallet, a worn and wrinkled picture.  
  
"Oh, it's your prom picture!" Tomoyo exclaimed, "I haven't seen it in ages!"  
  
Syaoran took it and looked at it.  
  
He nearly gasped when he saw her grinning coyly at the camera, outfitted in a light pink strapless ball gown.  
  
Toby's blond hair was sticking up messily and he looked out of place in his black suit, but he was also beaming at camera, his hands around Sakura's waist.  
  
"Who did you guys go to the prom with?" Touya asked.  
  
Tomoyo said, "Some guy from my chemistry class."  
  
Meiling grinned, "I went solo. And I had a damn good time."  
  
Tomoyo protested, "You took another girl's date at the dance! And then he took you to the party!"  
  
Meiling shrugged, "He kept on stepping on my feet."  
  
Syaoran couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture.  
  
Sakura was so beautiful…  
  
"Can I have my picture back?" Toby asked.  
  
"Huh. Oh, here, take it," Syaoran handed the picture back to Toby, who tucked it securely back into his wallet.  
  
"Well, I'm going to take a nap," Toby yawned, "Jet lag."  
  
"All right. You can sleep in Yuki's bed for now. He's not home," Sakura said, and led Toby to the bedroom.  
  
Touya commented to Syaoran, "I don't like that kid."  
  
Syaoran snorted, "Neither do I."  
  
"You guys are so judgmental," Meiling whacked a sofa cushion at Syaoran, "He's perfectly nice. We love him."  
  
"That's why. It's not good for a guy to have to undivided attention and care of three women," Touya said.  
  
"Oh, whatever. He's leaving in a week, so be nice to him," Tomoyo said.  
  
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That night…  
  
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Syaoran went out jogging around nine.   
  
It was freezing cold, but he had to get away from the apartment once in a while.  
  
Syaoran expertly paced himself and just ran, and not to his surprise he ended up in Sakura's apartment.  
  
Syaoran grinned and headed around the apartment to the playground, when he heard voices that made him stop.  
  
He snuck around and peered at the playground.  
  
It was Toby and Sakura out on the playground, with Toby pushing Sakura while she flew on the swings.  
  
They were both laughing and talking, but Syaoran couldn't hear what they were saying.  
  
He looked at them, and couldn't help but feel jealous…although he couldn't imagine why.  
  
Syaoran sighed, and turned to run back home.  
  
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"What did you think of my friends?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Which ones? The two guys?" Toby asked, pushing Sakura.  
  
"Uh huh. What did you think of Touya? The older one? He's my brother," Sakura said.  
  
"That surprised me. I guess he was okay, but I don't think any of them liked me," Toby said.  
  
Sakura laughed, "That doesn't shock me. Those two are probably jealous."  
  
"I think the brown-haired one likes you," Toby said.  
  
"What? Syaoran? No way. We're just friends," Sakura said.  
  
"That's what everyone says," Toby teased.  
  
He then got serious and said, "I came here to talk to you."  
  
"About what?" Sakura asked, turning around midair.  
  
"Well, I have some connections all throughout the world in different magazine," Toby began.  
  
Sakura snorted, then said, "Go on."  
  
"And one of my friends says that they need a new face in their magazine. A model. For Vogue. I instantly thought of you. And if you want, you could try it," Toby said.  
  
Sakura slowed the swing down suddenly.  
  
"That's so weird," Sakura smiled.  
  
"What is?" Toby asked.  
  
"My mom was a model. Nadeshiko Kinimoto," Sakura said.  
  
"Oh. It must run in the family then. Does it mean that you'll do it?" Toby asked.  
  
"I'll give it a try. What do I do?" Sakura asked.  
  
Toby fished in his pocket for his wallet and took out a business card.  
  
"Call this number. They'll probably arrange an appointment with you, and see if you're good enough. Keep in mind that modeling is risky business," Toby warned.  
  
"I know," Sakura said, and gave Toby a hug, "Thank you."  
  
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Sakura nervously bit her fingernails as dial tone rang.  
  
"Hello? Vogue Modeling Department, Cheryl speaking," a voice said.  
  
"Hello? Hi, my name is Sakura Yuki-Kinomoto. My friend Toby Mawasomi gave me Mr. Sukutchi's business card, and I'm supposed to make an appointment with him," Sakura blurted out.  
  
"Oh, all right. The name's Kinomoto?" Cheryl asked.  
  
"Um, Yuki-Kinomoto," Sakura said, wondering why she had added the last part.  
  
"Sounds familiar. All right, Mr. Sukutchi can see you tomorrow at five-thirty. Is that all right with you?" the chirpy voice asked.  
  
"That sounds fine," Sakura said, "Thank you very much."  
  
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Syaoran was walking to the car from the post office, having bought some stamps, when he caught sight of Toby.  
  
He was walking on the sidewalk, talking in a cell phone with a bag slung over his shoulder.  
  
Toby was easy to spot, what with his blond hair standing him out of the brown-and-black headed crowd.  
  
Toby closed his cell phone and saw Syaoran, and waved his arm in greeting.  
  
"Want to get a cup of coffee?" Toby asked cheerfully.  
  
"Um, all right," Syaoran said, shrugging.  
  
They walked into a Starbucks, and ordered some lattes.   
  
The two men sat down on the couches with their drinks, sipping them slowly.  
  
Toby started the conversation, "I don't think you like me."  
  
Syaoran looked up from his drink, "Huh. Oh," he shrugged.  
  
"And I think I know why," Toby tapped his cup gently, "I think you're jealous of me."  
  
Syaoran's eyebrows shot up, and Toby said, "You don't have to be. I think you think that I want Sakura, but I don't. I love her as my sister. And I think you should hurry up and catch her before anyone else does."  
  
Syaoran said gruffly, "Who ever said I liked her?"  
  
"I can tell," Toby grinned, "Or at least you're beginning to like her. I know these things."  
  
"How?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I'm a photographer. Looking through the camera, I can see more than one perspective. And right now, I think you and Sakura would be perfect for each other. Go for it."  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "Whatever."  
  
Toby smiled and said, "I got to go back. I promised to buy a gallon of milk for the ladies."  
  
"All right. See you," Syaoran said, warming slightly up to this weird American kid.  
  
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Next day…Sakura's interview  
  
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"Oh my god, what the hell am I going to wear?" Sakura frantically asked, throwing around clothes.  
  
"Relax, Sakura. It's just an interview," Toby said, popping the tab off of a coke.  
  
"An interview? I want to get this job, I'm sick and tired of working at the damn restaurant and the school---where is my pink skirt?" Sakura demanded.  
  
"Here, wear this," Toby threw a tan, brown and red plaid knit skirt at her, which came down halfway between her ankles and knees.  
  
"And this," Toby picked up a brown long-sleeved shirt and handed it to Sakura.  
  
"Wear your brown boots and sweep your hair back. The skirt makes your legs look long, the boots give you three more inches added to your height, and the shirt makes you look thin. Sweeping you hair back gives your face the camera-square," Toby lectured, "I didn't go to three different colleges majoring in photography for nothing. And ogling at French models, either."  
  
"Thanks, Toby," Sakura gave him a hug, "You're the best."  
  
"All right. Now go kick their asses," Toby ordered, "Or I'll kick yours."  
  
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Sakura nervously sat down in the waiting area of the large Vogue building.  
  
She played with a strand of hair until a receptionist, Cheryl, called out, "Miss Sakura Yuki-Kinomoto?"  
  
Sakura stood up, and raised her hand, "Here."  
  
"Mr. Sukutchi will see you now," Cheryl said.  
  
Sakura smoothened her skirt out and walked, hopefully gracefully, to the room Cheryl had directed her to.  
  
She knocked before entering, and bowed respectfully to the fat old man who was sitting on his chair smoking a cigar.  
  
"Miss Yuki-Kinomoto? It's a pleasure to meet you. I understand you were referred to by a Mr. Toby Mawasomi? He's a good friend of mine," Mr. Sukutchi greeted.  
  
"Me too," Sakura smiled, "How are you?"  
  
"I'm just fine. Now…Kinomoto…I've heard of that name before. It rings a bell," Mr. Sukutchi mused.  
  
"Nadeshiko Kinomoto was my mother. She was a model," Sakura said.  
  
"Ah! Nadeshiko!" Mr. Sukutchi pulled out a drawer.  
  
"She was my best model," Mr. Sukutchi said, "Very young and beautiful."  
  
"You knew her?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
"She worked directly under me," Mr. Sukutchi said, and exclaimed, "Ah hah! Here we go."  
  
He pulled out a file and opened it.  
  
There were torn pages from magazines, covers and advertisements, and separate photos.  
  
"This was your mother, indeed. You two look exactly alike," Mr. Sukutchi proclaimed.  
  
Sakura took the photos and examined them.  
  
What everyone had said was true…she did look like Nadeshiko.  
  
"I never knew my mother," Sakura admitted, "She died before I could remember her."  
  
Mr. Sukutchi clicked his tongue sympathetically, and said, "You may keep those photos if you like. I have many more of them."  
  
"Thank you sir. Now, what are we supposed to do for the interview?" Sakura asked.  
  
Mr. Sukutchi waved his hand, "No need. You're hired. You're perfect for the job. Especially with some family background," he winked.  
  
Sakura blushed, "Thank you sir!"  
  
"Now, we're starting our spring wardrobe. It comes out in two months; March. So we need to get right to work. Is Monday, tomorrow, okay?"  
  
"Sure!" Sakura exclaimed eagerly.  
  
"We'll discuss pay and benefits later. Come directly to my office tomorrow, and I'll give you a personal tour around the building," Mr. Sukutchi said.  
  
"Thank you, sir!" Sakura bowed again and left the room.  
  
She had a broad grin on as she left Mr. Sukutchi's office, and smiled at Cheryl.  
  
Cheryl asked, "Did you get the job?"  
  
"Yup!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
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End of chapter 9. Next chapter, "Two Kidnappings in One Day."  
  
A/N: Hm, is it time to update so soon? I guess it is. Well…the next chapter will be up on the 16th…hopefully, by then, I'll have finished the whole series. I'm thinking of starting a couple of new fanfics…I've tried, but I've been focusing on this lately, plus I haven't had much time to write, what with school and all. So…please review!! And btw, put your e-mail in your review if you want me to e-mail you when I update!! 


	10. Two Kidnappings in One Day

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 10: Two Kidnappings in One Night  
  
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Sakura walked to the car, worn out.  
  
She glanced at her watch, which read 4:30.  
  
"Oh boy," Sakura sighed, as she got into the car.  
  
She turned the engine on and drove out of the building's parking lot.  
  
Her first day of job had gone well…too well.  
  
Since one of the models had called in sick, Sakura had to fill in for her, even though she had only been in the building for fifteen minutes.  
  
The photographer said that she had a natural look, and they kept on throwing clothes on her the whole day until she was too sore to walk around.  
  
Her first paycheck would come in on Friday…which was exciting, since modeling did pay a lot.  
  
When Sakura got home, she dropped the keys onto the dining table and fell onto the couch, exhausted.  
  
"Tired?" Toby asked, appearing from the kitchen, drinking a bottle of coke and munching on a bag of Lays.  
  
"Yes. Very tired. Oh, look at these," Sakura got out the pictures of Nadeshiko out from her bag.  
  
She threw them at Toby, who caught them and sat down on the couch.  
  
"Wow. She looks exactly like you," Toby commented, gazing at the pictures.  
  
"Kind of scary. And I don't even know her," Sakura sighed, "Where's Meiling and Tomoyo?"  
  
"They're at work. Meiling comes home at six, and Tomoyo's staying late until 8. She says that there's a deadline or whatever," Toby shrugged.  
  
"You must be bored," Sakura sympathized.  
  
"Not really. I go out once in awhile, and I still have to keep track of my work back in the US," Toby said.  
  
"Oh," Sakura yawned, "What do you want for dinner?"  
  
"I'll cook up something for you. Meiling's having dinner with the doctor," Toby winked at Sakura, who laughed.  
  
"I'm going to sit outside while you create a delicious dinner for me," Sakura said, "On the fire escape."  
  
"All right. Come inside when I call you."  
  
Sakura walked over to the window and opened it.  
  
She took out the screen and climbed through the window.  
  
The fire escape was part porch, part metal staircase.  
  
Sakura sat down on the bottom stair and gazed out into the city.  
  
She peeked down below her and saw the people living below her were eating dinner.  
  
"I'm done!" Toby announced.  
  
Sakura hopped off the staircase and climbed back into the window.  
  
"Leave the window open, it lets in fresh air," Toby said.  
  
He said triumphantly, "Your delicious dinner!"  
  
Sakura stared down at the small bowl.  
  
"You made me some cup noodles? Ramen?" Sakura asked contemptuously.   
  
Toby grinned, "That's the best I could do."  
  
"All right. I'm hungry, anyways," Sakura said thoughtfully.  
  
She lifted her chopsticks and picked up some curly noodles, and gently blew on the food and stuffed it in her mouth.  
  
"Don't people break in here?" Toby asked.  
  
"Huh? Nope. It's strange. This apartment is the only building that hasn't been broken into since twenty years," Sakura explained, picking up some more noodles, "I guess this building's too rundown to hold anything valuable, you know?"  
  
Toby nodded, "Still…be careful. Lock the window at night."  
  
"I will, father," Sakura teased.  
  
She chewed on the noodles thoughtfully and said, "Hey. This actually tastes good!"  
  
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Next day…Tuesday…  
  
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All three girls got off work at two, which was pretty early.  
  
"Where's Toby?" Sakura asked, dropping her bag onto the floor.  
  
"Here's a note. It says, 'Ladies--I've gone off to do some work. Will be back for dinner. Hint hint, I love Chinese takeout.'," Tomoyo read.  
  
Meiling laughed, "I guess that's what we're eating for dinner."  
  
"You guys want to go to the gym?" Meiling asked, patting her stomach, "I haven't worked out in awhile, and we still haven't registered those passes Touya got us."  
  
"Sure," Tomoyo said, "I could use a good punching bag, what with all the stress at work."  
  
The girls quickly changed into outfits and headed to the new gym.  
  
They signed in, using the passes Touya had gotten them, and they received year-long membership cards.  
  
"Where do you want to go?" Sakura asked, looking around the gym.  
  
"They have classes for yoga, and stuff. Ooh, look, martial arts! Let's try that!" Meiling exclaimed.  
  
Sakura groaned, "Just because you had several year's training doesn't mean we can do that stuff."  
  
"Fine, I'll teach you. Never know when this stuff might come in handy," Meiling winked.  
  
They proceeded to an area with a large punching bag, mats and dummy.  
  
"Oh my god, they have a shooting range here," Tomoyo said.  
  
"That'd be fun," Meiling cocked her head to the side, "Let's try it later."  
  
"Whatever," Sakura said.  
  
She said, "What the heck am I supposed to do?"  
  
"I'll teach you. Now, let's start with the basics. Punching," Meiling said.  
  
Tomoyo groaned, "No way."  
  
"And then we'll move to kicking. We'll practice, and then we can go to the shooting range!" Meiling said enthusiastically.   
  
"Ugh," Sakura said.  
  
"Now, first of all, make a fist. And throw it forward. We want to put all our weight into our punch, you know. A hundred and ten pounds of fury into an idiot's skull," Meiling grinned.  
  
"Too much violence!" Tomoyo sang.  
  
"Shut up," Meiling said quickly, and smirked, "Tuck your thumb underneath your fingers."  
  
The two other girls complied, and Meiling lectured, "Now, you need to be focused. You're strongest part of the hand is your index finger knuckle, and that's where you want to strike."  
  
"God, Meiling. Where did you learn this?" Sakura asked, painfully rubbing her knuckle after punching the bag.  
  
"I had a good teacher," Meiling explained, "We learned a lot. Me and Syaoran. And Eriol, too. But Eriol was more interested in books. Start with your first up then rotate it slightly just before you strike. Not so fast, we need aim and strength," Meiling instructed.  
  
"Why aren't you doing this? Making us suffer," Sakura gritted her teeth as she punched the bag.  
  
"Can't we get any gloves?" Tomoyo whined.  
  
"Oh, shush. You guys have it easy. I had to do this for hours at a time, and if I made one mistake, I was humiliated in front of my family and friends. Women need to know how to fight," Meiling said.  
  
"That's right," a voice said from the back.  
  
The three girls turned around and saw Syaoran smirking at them, "Nice, Meiling."  
  
Meiling flushed, "What?"  
  
"You forgot about balance. Spread your legs apart more. Balance your weight between your knees, and pull the other fist back when hitting. It makes balance. Loosen up," Syaoran said, watching the three girls start punching the bags.  
  
"Bend your knees when you start, then straighten them by the time your land a punch. The power goes up," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura gritted her teeth and punched the bag with a sudden burst of energy.  
  
"No, no, not like that. You need focus, you have no lack of energy, but you need better aim," Syaoran said, in almost a bored tone of voice.  
  
Meiling had quieted considerably, now listening to Syaoran.  
  
He had an obvious voice of leadership, and said, "Stand aside."  
  
The three girls moved out of the way, and Syaoran narrowed his eyes at the dummy.  
  
Before the girls could blink, Syaoran suddenly moved into a series of kicks and punches, furiously giving the dummy a beat down.  
  
Syaoran finished it by running up to the dummy, and a split-second before crashing into it, Syaoran jumped up, and landed his feet onto the chest of the dummy.  
  
He landed perfectly, and the dummy was left bobbing around.  
  
The crowd that had gathered around started clapping, and Sakura and Tomoyo were in awe.  
  
"You were rusty. That punch you landed in the beginning was off aim, and the last kick was pretty sloppy," Meiling criticized.  
  
"I haven't done this in awhile. It felt good, though," Syaoran stretched.  
  
"I'd like to do that," Sakura said thoughtfully, "It looks good."  
  
"Takes years of practice. I guess we could master the basic kick and punch," Tomoyo said.  
  
For two more hours, the girls and Syaoran practiced punches and kicks, Syaoran and Meiling teaching them.  
  
"All right, Sakura. Come onto me," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura looked at him skeptically, "Are you sure? I think I've gotten rather good on my kick."  
  
"Don't worry. Just imagine me as a thug," Syaoran said.  
  
Meiling smirked, "Which shouldn't be so hard."  
  
Sakura took a deep breath and the two started circling each other.  
  
Sakura decided to use the element of surprise, and lunged forward, aiming for Syaoran chest and punched.  
  
It landed in midair, since Syaoran had easily dodged it.  
  
"Oh, come on," Sakura pouted, and flipped around, face to face with Syaoran's foot.  
  
She had a millisecond to duck, and luckily she didn't get kicked in the face.  
  
"Don't let your guard down," Syaoran said.  
  
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Sakura said.  
  
She stepped backwards and threw her body forwards, and she almost landed a kick to Syaoran's side.  
  
"Close," Syaoran said, but added, "But not close enough."  
  
Sakura darted to Syaoran's side and wrapped her slim leg around Syaoran's, and knocked her knee into the back of his, making him kneel down in surprise, and she punched him on the back, making him grunt.  
  
He recovered quickly and ducked forward quickly, making Sakura roll over him.  
  
She changed positions and continued rolling across the mat in a forward motion, and stood up.  
  
She barely blinked when Syaoran came charging at her, and swept his feet across the mat, making Sakura trip and fall down.  
  
"Give up, now?" Syaoran asked, holding a hand on her back.  
  
"Yes," Sakura moaned, "I think I hurt my butt."  
  
Syaoran gently let go of her and Sakura sat up.  
  
"Nice trick you did there with your leg," Syaoran said, "Where'd you learn that?"  
  
Sakura grinned, "Toby taught it to me after the seventh grade bully came after us. Needless to say, he didn't bother us ever again."  
  
Syaoran responded with a smile of his own, "I can tell. It even got me by surprise."  
  
Sakura leapt up from the floor and said, "Come on! Let's go to the shooting range!"  
  
"Well, someone certainly has a thirst for violence," Syaoran said in mock-sarcasm.  
  
He changed to his regular voice and called to Tomoyo and Meiling, "Let's hurry up and get to the shooting range!"  
  
Tomoyo and Meiling nodded and came over.  
  
Meiling asked coyly, "You two certainly looked cozy snuggled up together…with her leg around yours."  
  
Sakura blushed, "Shut up! I almost beat him."  
  
"Hah!" Syaoran scoffed, "No one beats the Syaoran."  
  
Sakura smirked, "We'll see about that."  
  
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They got to the shooting range, which was all the girls' first times.  
  
They had to show their ids to the man at the desk, and rented pistols, bought bullets and the headgear to protect their ears and eyes.  
  
When the walked into the small glass booths, Syaoran taught Sakura how to insert the bullet in and get it started.  
  
"How do you know this?" Sakura asked, confused by all the parts of the gun, "All I thought you had to do was press the button and BANG!"  
  
Syaoran chuckled, "It's complicated. All right. Now, put two hands on the gun and fire at that cardboard person.  
  
"Why two hands?" Sakura inquired.  
  
"The recoil's going to hurt you if you only use one hand. Now, hurry up, we don't have all day," Syaoran ordered.  
  
Sakura narrowed her eyes in concentration and steadied her two hands onto the small pistol.  
  
BANG!  
  
Sakura opened her eyes, and Syaoran said, "Tsk, tsk. You closed your eyes right before you shot."  
  
"I did?" Sakura asked, confused.  
  
She looked out into the arena and saw her stray bullet had hit the cardboard person next to hers.  
  
"Try one more time," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right," Sakura loaded the gun again and lifted it up to aim.  
  
She squinted at the figure, then pressed the trigger again.  
  
BANG!  
  
Sakura opened her eyes again, realizing that she had involuntarily closed them.  
  
"Ouch," Tomoyo commented.  
  
Sakura looked at the cardboard person and saw the man had a bullet hole right in between his legs….  
  
"You closed your eyes again. That screwed up your aim," Syaoran started to lecture.  
  
Sakura grinned and said, "No, I didn't miss. I was right on target."  
  
Syaoran winced in horror, "What kind of woman are you?"  
  
Sakura winked at him and lifted the gun to blow at imaginary smoke.  
  
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The week passed by quickly.  
  
Toby left for America on Saturday, much to the sadness of Sakura.   
  
Sakura and Syaoran started going to the gym together everyday and working out, with Syaoran teaching Sakura how to fight.  
  
"Why are you torturing me like this?" Sakura asked, panting as she fell onto the floor, sweat spilling down onto her forehead.  
  
"Hey, you asked for the lessons. And it's a gut feeling. I think you'll be needing these lessons soon," Syaoran said.  
  
And oh, how Syaoran was right. So right.  
  
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All right…now for some much-needed action…the conflict is currently starting to arise…lol  
  
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Yuki was standing in his usual clothes inside the warehouse.  
  
The black suit, hat and sunglasses which mirrored his boss' face.  
  
"Now, Mr. X," Mr. Noshiko said.   
  
That was Yuki's name at the headquarters.  
  
"I've just learned that the Tsukiro gang is after the disc. Why, I don't know. Probably jealous of our success," Noshiko chuckled, and thumped Yuki on the back.  
  
"I need you to hide the disc. After 15 years of service, I still don't know where you live. That's why I trust you to take this disc. You created it. I trust you to protect it with--your life," Noshiko said.  
  
Yuki nodded slowly.  
  
"The disc?" Noshiko snapped his fingers and two of his minions came forward with a suitcase.  
  
Yuki looked at the suitcase, unblinking underneath the dark shades as he stared down unnervingly.  
  
Noshiko shifted his 250 pounds of flab uncomfortably, wondering why he had chosen to wear his Gucci leather oxfords, rather than his Prada slip-ons.  
  
In truth, he was rather scared of Mr. X.  
  
It was impossible to be so pale, and yet have so many brains.  
  
Noshiko was glad Mr. X was on his side.  
  
Yuki held out his hand and the minions handed the suitcase to him.  
  
Yuki took it and spun around, leaving the building.  
  
"Freak," the minion muttered.  
  
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"Damn it, I want her back!" Sonomi roared.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, we're locating her at this very moment," a twitchy man said.  
  
"I want her here in twenty-four hours, unharmed. And drugged, if you need to. I've lived too long without my daughter. She needs to take over the business. Especially now in times of economic trouble," Sonomi muttered to herself.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. She goes under the name of Tomoyo Yuki, now. We've just located her apartment building. It's --" the man began.  
  
"I don't care about that. Just get her here by tomorrow," Sonomi ordered, and snapped her fingers.  
  
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Eriol was resting in his car. Actually, he was on a stakeout, looking for the mysterious pale man.  
  
"Mr. X," Eriol murmured to himself, raking his fingers through his hair.  
  
He got out the pictures that Syaoran had taken and studied them carefully.  
  
There was no doubt about it that the man was bald and pale and skinny.  
  
I mean, there weren't too many of those men around downtown Tokyo, right?  
  
Maybe Eriol was rather stupid to be having a stakeout in the middle of the day, parked next to the sidewalk.  
  
He heard a knock on the side of his door and quickly rolled down the window.  
  
"Yes, officer?" Eriol asked the policeman that was bending over to talk to him.  
  
"I need you to move this car, sir. It's past the parking time," the policeman pointed over to a sign which read, "NO PARKING 11-3 PM."  
  
"All right, sir," Eriol nodded and turned to start up the car.  
  
He put the pictures down, when he saw the exact same man in the picture, walking down on the sidewalk.  
  
Eriol blinked and pushed down his sunglasses, squinting.  
  
Yep, there was Mr. X.  
  
Eriol shut off the stereo and started up the car, driving slowly along the traffic, keeping on eye on the street and one eye on the walking man.  
  
"This is way too easy," Eriol muttered to himself when he saw the man walk into an apartment building.  
  
(A/N: Notice! Eriol has never been to Yuki/Tomoyo/Sakura/Meiling's apartment. Just to let you know, if you're confused.)  
  
Eriol let the man walk in and disappear before Eriol quickly got out of the car and stealthily followed the man upstairs.  
  
Eriol pretended he was looking at his watch when Mr. X turned and looked down at him from the stairs.  
  
Eriol glanced up and continued walking up the stairs.  
  
He was starting to feel rather fatigued and started to pant, but he kept on going up.  
  
He paused at the twenty second floor, where Mr. X took out a key and unlocked the door to walk in.  
  
Eriol's eyes widened, but he continued going up and up.  
  
About five stories up, he stopped and sat down on the stairs to catch his breath.  
  
He took out a pen and quickly scribbled down, 'twenty second floor. Third door on right.'  
  
Eriol stretched and got up.  
  
Now, for the long walk down.  
  
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Yuki walked into the bedroom and closed the door.  
  
He expertly fiddled with the locks of the briefcase, and it clicked ajar.  
  
Yuki opened the suitcase and it revealed the disc, packed in a bed of Styrofoam peanuts.  
  
Yuki picked it up with his slender finger and examined the disc.  
  
He had created the disc…  
  
Yuki glanced at the window.  
  
He was tempted to throw it out…but he had to do his job.  
  
Yuki sighed, and stood up with the disc.  
  
He opened one of the drawers of his dresser, where his shirts were.  
  
He hid the disc in between his white shirt and his dark green one.  
  
As he closed the drawer, he caught sight of a family picture.  
  
Yuki smiled fondly at the picture of him, surrounded by Tomoyo, Meiling and Sakura, who were jumping up and down in excitement.  
  
It was when they were about 12 years, and one of the first pictures they had ever taken together.  
  
Yuki smiled and tucked the picture into his pocket.  
  
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A couple days later…  
  
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"Oh, you can't?" Tomoyo pouted into the phone, "Why not?"  
  
"I have to finish up some work. But I promise I'll take you out to a movie tomorrow, all right?" Eriol promised.  
  
"All right. I love you," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Me too. Take care," Eriol hung up.  
  
Tomoyo closed her cell phone and yawned.  
  
She glanced at the clock in her tiny cubicle at the XOXO office, and it read 10:30.   
  
She definitely had stayed waaaaaay too long.  
  
She opened her cell phone again and speed dialed home.  
  
Nobody picked it up, and Tomoyo closed the cell phone back up.  
  
Yuki was probably gone away somewhere as usual, but where could Sakura and Meiling be?  
  
Tomoyo quickly dialed the number to the Vogue office.  
  
"Hello, this is Cheryl speaking!" a chirpy voice asked.  
  
"Hi, do you know if Sakura Yuki is there?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Sakura Yuki? We have a Sakura Kinomoto, but no Yuki," Cheryl said.  
  
"Um, yeah. Sakura Kinomoto," Tomoyo said, with a weird look on her face.  
  
"She left for dinner with her brother. She told me that if any calls came, that she'd be home late."  
  
"All right. Thank you," Tomoyo shut her cell phone.  
  
Sakura Kinomoto…?  
  
It sounded so strange to her ears.  
  
Well, she was Tomoyo Daidouji, too…but all three girls had legally changed their names to Yuki.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, and called Syaoran's cell phone.  
  
"Hi, do you know where Meiling is? Oh, she called you? She's on a date with the doctor? Gotcha. Thanks, bye," Tomoyo hung up again.  
  
Tomoyo turned off her computer in silence.  
  
The whole floor was empty, except for one janitor who was sweeping the floor.  
  
Tomoyo gathered her things into her purse and headed out in to the deserted streets.   
  
She was walking home, but she felt like she was being watched…  
  
Tomoyo turned around, but she didn't see anybody.  
  
A pair of car tires squealed as they suddenly stopped right beside Tomoyo.  
  
She glanced at the car, and three men jumped out of them.  
  
One of them was waving a needle and shouting, "Get her!"  
  
Tomoyo quickly panicked and started to run, but she was caught by a pair of strong arms belonging to one of the three men.  
  
She struggled and tried to scream over her clamped mouth, but was dragged into the car.  
  
The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the grinning face of a maniacal man, who said, "We're going to get a bonus cash raise!"  
  
He cackled, and Tomoyo fell into the darkness.  
  
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"There he is," Touya whispered to Syaoran.  
  
He blinked, and nodded, "All right. Do you think we can kidnap him?"  
  
Touya nodded, "He looks unarmed. He's just walking out here in broad night."  
  
"What are you talking about? It's two am!" Syaoran said.  
  
"All right. Keep your head down. We'll pop out of the car as soon as he passes. I pray he doesn't know any kung fu," Touya said.  
  
"Ha," Syaoran said, "Not most likely."  
  
Syaoran and Touya ducked down below the windows of the Explorer.  
  
"This is such amateur kidnapping," Touya muttered, "What if someone sees us and calls the police?"  
  
"We'll be out of here before they arrive, hopefully," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right! He's passing by…three…" Touya counted down.  
  
"Two…….one!"  
  
The two men popped out of the car and dashed towards the man.  
  
Syaoran and Touya wrestled down each thin arm of the man, but it wasn't necessary.  
  
The man, named Mr. X, wasn't putting up a fight at all, and standing there calmly while Touya and Syaoran were hopping around madly.  
  
"Um, Touya, something's wrong," Syaoran said after awhile.  
  
"You idiot, now he knows my name!" Touya swore.  
  
"Oh, shut up. This is plain stupid," Syaoran sighed, "This is an idiot kidnapping. We have no experience whatsoever, even after 10 years of working."  
  
"Just take him into the car, and blindfold him," Touya groaned, "You're right."  
  
Touya and Syaoran half-heartedly blindfolded Mr. X and took him into the backseat of the Explorer.  
  
"Where are we going to put him?" Syaoran asked after awhile.  
  
"I don't know. We can't keep him at our house. What about the basement of the headquarters?" Touya asked.  
  
"Perfect. We'll take him there. I have extra keys, and I'll come by tomorrow morning to guard him all day," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right. Let's go," Touya said.  
  
He glanced back at Mr. X, who was standing upright, staring at Touya with a queer look on his face.  
  
"Freak," Touya muttered under his breath.  
  
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When Tomoyo woke up, it was morning.  
  
She sat up in a large bed with silk blankets and pillows cushioning her.  
  
She shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun with her hand, and then turned her head, looking around.  
  
Something seemed familiar…but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.  
  
At the sound of the door opening, Tomoyo whirled around in her bed.  
  
She noticed that she was wearing silk pajamas.  
  
"Well, well. You finally woke up, my princess," Sonomi smirked at her.  
  
Tomoyo gasped.  
  
She was at her old house, in her old room.  
  
"Why am I here?" Tomoyo demanded, backing away.  
  
"You've come back to live with me, sweetie. You're my legal daughter. You belong to me," Sonomi said.  
  
Tomoyo shook her head fiercely, "No. Tomoyo Daidouji is dead. I'm Tomoyo Yuki!"  
  
Sonomi simply laughed, "Fool."  
  
Tomoyo sneered at her mother, "Think what you want. I'm going back."  
  
"Not so. Oh, Bulldog!" Sonomi clapped her hands.  
  
Tomoyo looked at her mother strangely, her mother had never seemed the type to keep dogs, or try to sic them on Tomoyo.  
  
Actually, Bulldog was not a dog. He was a huge man, with rippling muscles, and a scary looking pair of handcuffs in his hands.  
  
He was a bodyguard, and knowing Sonomi's bodyguards, he was one of the men who had kidnapped her.  
  
"Put those in her hands, and chain her to the bed," Sonomi ordered, "Then call Nolly in and have him guard her."  
  
Bulldog nodded, and dumbly walked over to Tomoyo.  
  
"Augh!" Tomoyo jumped up and defensively kicked Bulldog in the jaw, using the technique Meiling had taught her.  
  
Bulldog barely blinked.  
  
"Oh, so you've learned to fight, have you?" Sonomi sneered, "Go get Nolly and Fartass, and another pair of handcuffs. We've got a feisty one in here," Sonomi laughed.  
  
"You're a bitch," Tomoyo declared to her mother.  
  
"I daresay it's rubbed off onto you," Sonomi grinned menacingly.  
  
Two other men came in again with Bulldog, and they immediately tackled Tomoyo.  
  
In a split-second, both of Tomoyo's wrists were chained to the bedposts.  
  
The bedposts were shaped like wooden knobs, and the handcuffs were on the bottom part of the knob, making it impossible for the handcuffs to slip out.  
  
"You'll be staying here a day. You need to pay for your actions, my daughter," Sonomi laughed.  
  
"The police will come," Tomoyo said determinedly, "Sakura and Meiling will call them when they find I'm missing. Or Eriol," Tomoyo added.  
  
Sonomi chuckled sinisterly, "I've paid the Tokyo Police Department enough money to hush them up. They'll bend to my will, after that hefty check I handed them last night."  
  
Sonomi whirled around and left the room with two of the bodyguards.  
  
The one called Nolly stayed, and sat down on one of Tomoyo's chairs.  
  
Tomoyo helplessly laid on the bed, chained down.  
  
Tomoyo bristled in anger.  
  
She looked at Nolly, who looked back at her stupidly.  
  
"Hey there," Tomoyo started.  
  
"Huh? You talking to me?" Nolly asked, and looked around.  
  
"Yes, you. So, what motivated you to attain this high paying career that obviously overestimates your social skills?" Tomoyo asked.   
  
Nolly stared at her.  
  
He blinked.  
  
"Uh, can I take a nap?" he asked.  
  
Tomoyo flashed the big man a grin, "Sure. Take all the naps you want."  
  
Tomoyo laid on the bed for awhile, listening to the heavy breathing and snoring of Nolly.  
  
Then, she came up with a plan.  
  
Even though her hands were cuffed, she could still move them around, and Tomoyo twisted her hands around to the bedpost, and with all her strength, she turned the bedpost point off.  
  
"Ha!" Tomoyo exclaimed in triumph.  
  
She quickly glanced at Nolly to make sure he wasn't awaken.  
  
He barely stirred, only emitting a grunt in his sleep.  
  
Tomoyo tried to wrestle off the handcuff from her hand, but it wouldn't work.  
  
"Oh well," Tomoyo murmured to herself, and quickly twisted off the other bedpost on her left hand.  
  
Tomoyo groaned when she got up; the wooden posts were so heavy that they were dragging down her wrists.  
  
Tomoyo mustered up all the strength she had left in herself and ran over to the window, and lifted up the glass part.  
  
She popped off the screen, and got ready to climb out…  
  
Until she looked down and saw three stories.  
  
"Damn it," Tomoyo muttered.  
  
Tomoyo looked around with her head out the window.  
  
How had she gone out the window as a child?  
  
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Sakura fretted around, nervously wringing her hands together.  
  
"Where the hell could Tomoyo be?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Relax, Sakura! She probably fell asleep at the office or something--oh, damn, where's Yuki?" Meiling suddenly asked.  
  
Sakura cried out, "Ugh! Give me a phone!"  
  
Meiling quickly got their cordless phone and handed it to Sakura.  
  
Sakura quickly dialed Eriol's cell phone number.  
  
"Eriol? Hi, this is Sakura. Where's Tomoyo?" Sakura demanded, "You didn't keep her there overnight, did you, 'cause I've been doing all this worrying for nothing."  
  
"Why? Is she not there? No, she's not with me," Eriol replied.  
  
Sakura moaned, "Did you call you?"  
  
"No…she called me last night. I promised to take her to a movie," Eriol said.  
  
"Oh, all right. Call us if you come up with anything, okay?" Sakura said.  
  
"All right, is she gone, because then you might--" Eriol got cut off when Sakura hung up in worry.  
  
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Tomoyo sat on the window ledge, and put one foot on the gutter.  
  
It didn't seem to mind, and Tomoyo swung her other leg over, and put it on the gutter.  
  
She cautiously stood up, both hands gripping the window ledge.  
  
Tomoyo slowly inched to the left, where she saw a big tree, and a the top of a porch.  
  
Then, Tomoyo remembered how she had always done this.  
  
"Ha," Tomoyo murmured softly, and steadily shuffled towards the porch top.  
  
When she came to the end of the gutter, Tomoyo swiftly jumped on top of the porch.  
  
Making sure no one had heard, she paused and leapt to the tree.  
  
"Ouch," Tomoyo said, when the bedpost top caught onto a branch and yanked at her wrist.  
  
Tomoyo steadily descended the tree, and she hopped down to the ground, dusting off her silk pajamas, the handcuffs and bedposts clanging at her wrists.  
  
"Damn, I better get out of here," Tomoyo muttered, knowing how her mom always kept tight security.  
  
She ran to the side of the yard, where a large brick wall stood.  
  
Tomoyo smiled as she removed five bricks from the wall, something she had done as a child.  
  
Tomoyo stuck her bare foot inside the empty spot where the brick had been, and stuck her other foot into the other spot.  
  
She progressively scaled the wall, and reached the top.  
  
Tomoyo swung her legs over , and closing her eyes, jumped down.  
  
"Argh," Tomoyo moaned in pain from the impact the ground had given her bare feet.  
  
Tomoyo plunged her hand into her bra and took out twenty dollars.  
  
"Emergency money. Thank goodness," Tomoyo muttered, limping towards the street.  
  
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End of Chapter 10. Next chapter, 'Truth Revealed'.  
  
A/N: There's chapter ten! Sorry I'm posting this up a day late…I forgot about it yesterday. It's spring break for me, but I haven't had any time to write since I was busy partying…::cackles like a maniac:: Spring break is almost over, so I'll try to finish up this series by the end of April. However, the next chapter will be up on the 26th (chapter 11), so review and read until then! 


	11. Truth Revealed

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 11: Truth Revealed  
  
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"You don't talk, do you?" Syaoran asked Mr. X.  
  
Mr. X was inside a jail cell, sitting calmly on a raggedy cot.  
  
Mr. X turned his gaze onto Syaoran, and gave a secretive half-smile.  
  
"I could kill you right now…but then where would we be with the disc?" Syaoran asked thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "Besides, I'm not the murderous type."  
  
Mr. X rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh whatever. You hungry?" Syaoran offered Mr. X a piece of breakfast burrito.  
  
The man shook his head.  
  
"All right. How do you stay so white? You must have some pigment in your skin," Syaoran looked at Mr. X.  
  
He shrugged, and laid down onto the bed.  
  
"Okay, good night," Syaoran said, and finished his burrito.  
  
His cell phone inside his pocket rang, and he picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" he asked.  
  
"Hey, it's me. Is Mr. X there? He hasn't run away or anything, right?" Touya asked.  
  
"He's still here, alive and breathing. At least, I think so," Syaoran said, peering over at the still man.  
  
"Okay, man. I'll call back later to check on you," Touya responded.  
  
"Okay. Wait! We need to write the ransom note and deliver it to the Noshiko gang headquarters. Can you do that?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Sure," Touya answered, "What should I write?"  
  
"Um, tell them that we have their disc maker hostage, and we'll kill him unless they come up with the disc in less than 48 hours. Make a secure meeting place, and put it on the note. And put the deadline for the 48 hours," Syaoran directed.  
  
"Okay. Talk to you later," Touya hung up.  
  
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"The phone line's busy!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
She slammed the phone down, and the batteries popped out.  
  
"Who is Syaoran talking to so important that he can't answer the phone? Tell him to get call waiting, for gods' sake!" Sakura said.  
  
"It's not his fault. Then call him later. I don't think he has Tomoyo. Or Touya, either," Meiling said.  
  
She added, "You need to calm down and go to work."  
  
Sakura said, "It's okay. Today's my day off, which is perfect, because I got to go find Tomoyo's ass!"  
  
"Whoa, there," Meiling said, "Calm down. Take a deep breath. You know, usually I'm usually the hysterical one and you're the rational one. I have to go to work soon, but if Tomoyo doesn't come back by then, let's call the police."  
  
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Tomoyo staggered to the side of the street, her feet already hurting.  
  
She waved for a taxi, and she slowly opened the door and got in.  
  
The taxi driver looked at her dubiously and asked, "You got enough money to pay me back?"  
  
"Huh?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
She looked down at herself, her dusty silk pajamas, her bare feet and the two pairs of handcuffs linked to wooden bedposts.  
  
"Take me home," Tomoyo sighed, "Don't worry, I have money."  
  
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Tomoyo arrived in front of her apartment.  
  
"Here's your money," Tomoyo said, "Keep the change."  
  
The taxi driver snorted, "Two cents?"  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes, "Whatever."  
  
She shut the door of the cab and wearily went into the apartment.  
  
By the time she made it up to the twenty second floor, she was exhausted.  
  
She knocked on the door, and waited patiently.  
  
The door flew open, revealing a very frazzled looking Sakura.  
  
"Oh my god, WHERE WERE YOU? Iwassoworrieditwasn'tevenfunnyialmosthadapanicattackandhowcouldyounotevencalloranything?" Sakura babbled.  
  
"Calm down, take breath," Tomoyo said, "And get me a drink. I'm starving."  
  
Sakura led Tomoyo to the couch, while Meiling quickly got a piece of toast and orange juice on a plate and cup.  
  
"So, tell me where you were last night," Sakura cross her arms over her chest.  
  
"Last night, around 10 or something, I was walking home. And then I got kidnapped by three strange men," Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows.  
  
"They injected me with something. When I woke up, I was in these pajamas," Tomoyo gestured down at herself, "And my mom came in. Obviously, she kidnapped me. Eriol and I had a run in with her a couple of months ago. She want me to move back in her and continue being her daughter, run the company after she retires, and be the little puppet I was when I was younger," Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura clucked sympathetically, "I'm sorry. Your own mother."  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "Then when I tried to beat up one of the bodyguards, she got two handcuffs," Tomoyo raised her wrist, with the bedposts still dangling, "And she left. When the bodyguard fell asleep, I twisted the bedposts off, and ran off. And I got here. I'm sorry I worried you."  
  
Tomoyo gave Sakura hug, who returned it, saying, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. And I'm so glad you're okay."  
  
Meiling coughed, "Now the problem is, who knows when they might come back?"   
  
"Oh…I'm pretty positive that my mom knows where I live. After all, she has the whole Tokyo Police Department eating out of her hand," Tomoyo said.  
  
"All right. First, let's get those handcuffs off you. Meiling can go to work, and then Tomoyo and I will figure something out. We should go to a café or something for lunch, and try to stay out of those and blend into the crowd; somewhere public," Sakura said.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Okay."  
  
"All right. I'm off to work," Meiling started to run out the door, but Sakura caught her by the shirtsleeve.  
  
"Why are you always so eager to go to work now?" Sakura asked suspiciously.  
  
Meiling said, "Um…I get paid a lot?"  
  
Sakura narrowed her eyes, "It's that doctor guy, isn't it? Your first boyfriend, and you didn't even tell us!"  
  
Meiling said defensively, "Hey, the last time I told you guys who I liked--"  
  
"In the ninth grade," Tomoyo reminded.  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes, "You guys stalked him and practically ambushed him into asking me out, which he didn't even do, and that probably turned him off."  
  
"Sorry. Fine, we'll leave you alone. But tonight, you're giving us all the info on this handsome doctor guy," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling smiled, "I promise. Right after I get back from my romantic date with him!"  
  
Meiling stuck out her tongue childishly and ran out the door, clad in a pair of white running shoes, white jeans and a white top.  
  
"All right. I'm going to call Touya and ask him to bring some tools to take off these handcuffs," Sakura said.  
  
"Why not Syaoran or Eriol?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Syaoran's line was busy, which probably meant he was at work, and Eriol seemed to be busy," Sakura said.  
  
"Okay," Tomoyo said as Sakura picked up the phone, put the batteries back in it, and dialed Touya's cell phone number.  
  
"What happened to your cell phone?" Sakura asked Tomoyo while the phone was ringing.  
  
Tomoyo closed her eyes and she thought, "Oh crap! I think I turned it off and left it…"  
  
"Left it…" Sakura urged.  
  
"In my pants!" Tomoyo exclaimed.  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows.  
  
"In my pants! Oh god, I have to go get my cell phone back--I mean, Eriol gave it to me and he'll be all mad and stuff," Tomoyo said.  
  
"All right. We'll sneak into your house…grab your cell phone and clothes AFTER you change and get those horrible handcuffs off your hands," Sakura said.  
  
She turned back to the phone, which Touya picked up.  
  
"Hello? Touya! It's me, Sakura. Um, it's kind of complicated, but could you bring some tools over that could break through handcuffs? I don't know, they're metal. A key? Of course not. Long story, I told you. Okay, be here in ten minutes. Oh, you have to run an errand? Fine then, twenty minutes. We don't have much time," Sakura said, and hung up.  
  
"All right. Let's get you changed," Sakura said.  
  
"That's going to be hard," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Definitely."  
  
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Touya backed out of the warehouse parking lot quickly, changed gears and quickly zoomed out of the warehouse.  
  
He didn't want to stay at his gang's rival's headquarters any longer than he had too…  
  
Touya glanced at the passenger seat to make sure that his chisel, pliers, and keys were there.  
  
Oh yeah, and an electric saw.  
  
Tsukiro had given Touya the set of keys, which fit into almost all Japanese standard handcuffs.  
  
They were awfully useful for breaking out of jail.  
  
Touya arrived at Sakura's building and walked the twenty two flights to Sakura's apartment.  
  
He knocked on the door, and a panting Sakura opened it.  
  
"Whew! We finally got Tomoyo changed into a decent shirt! Do you know how long it takes to change when you have handcuffs with huge wooden posts attached to them?"  
  
"No, I wasn't aware of that," Touya said, amused.  
  
He stepped inside and saw Tomoyo, who was sitting on the couch with a pair of jeans and a very wrinkled shirt.  
  
"Here, get these off me," Tomoyo nearly wailed.  
  
"All right. I'll try," Touya said, "How'd you get these on in the first place? You weren't doing…anything BAD, were you?"  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes at Touya, "My mother decided it would be best to keep me home attached to the bed. That satisfy you?"  
  
Touya shrugged, "Not really, but whatever."  
  
Touya got out the keys and fit them inside the lock of Tomoyo's handcuffs.  
  
"Damn it, these don't work," Touya said, and said, "These aren't standard handcuffs, are they?"  
  
"Nope. Probably not, knowing my mom. She probably designed them herself," Tomoyo scoffed, "And they're like steel. I don't know how you're going to break through them."  
  
"Hm…" Touya mused, staring at the metal chains on Tomoyo's wrists, "I couldn't burn through them. Nor try to hack it. I'd probably cut off your arm or burn it in the process," Touya grinned.  
  
"Ah, no thank you," Tomoyo said quickly, "Something safe."  
  
"Well, let me try to hack through the chain. That'll relieve you of those heavy bedposts. If it works, then I'll try to go through the heavier part" Touya said.  
  
Touya plugged the electrical saw into an outlet, and turned the engine on the thing on.  
  
"Oh god, you're not going to use that on me, are you?" Tomoyo yelled over the roar of the vrooming saw.  
  
"Sorry," Touya smiled, and raised the saw.  
  
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Two hours, six scratches and two cuts later, Tomoyo plucked the last piece of metal of herself while Sakura wrapped her wrist with a bandage.  
  
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to lose control of the blade while I was cutting through there," Touya apologized.  
  
"Oh , it's all right. I have the cuffs off me, and the cuts will heal," Tomoyo said.  
  
"You better go now. Tomoyo and I are going to go out later for lunch. See you later, 'niichan!" Sakura led Touya out the door.  
  
Tomoyo came back, with a fresh shirt, and said, "Let's go. I have to go get my cell phone as soon as possible. Also, if my mom finds it, and she looks into the address book…"  
  
"She'll find all of our phone numbers, names and addresses," Sakura finished up, "C'mon. Lace up your sneakers and lets get ready to rumble."  
  
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(A/N: Tune to Pink Panther plays. Not really. Just imagine it.)  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura parked Sakura's car off the side of the road, not too far from the Daidouji estate.  
  
"I hope no one takes the car," Sakura said worriedly.  
  
"I don't think they will. Come on, we have to be careful. My mom probably has cameras all around, and we can't get caught," Tomoyo warned.  
  
Sakura nodded, "I understand."  
  
The two girls walked inconspicuously towards Sonomi's mansion, careful to be quiet.  
  
"Where's your room?" Sakura asked.  
  
They were hiding in a bushel of bushes, only meters from the brick wall Tomoyo had climbed over.  
  
"That's my window. Interesting. It's still open," Tomoyo observed.  
  
"Do you think that your mom hasn't discovered that you were gone yet?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I don't know. It's been, what, three or four hours already?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Sakura nodded, "Yeah. So how do we climb over?"  
  
Tomoyo grinned, "See that camera over that? It's moving around. In the five seconds that it doesn't look at that spot on the wall, we have to run and take out some bricks. We use those to put our feet in and climb. Then, we have to the jump down the other side, or climb, since I took out the bricks. Then, we can hide in the bushes on the other side while the camera zooms over us."  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows skeptically, "All that in five seconds?"  
  
"Well, I could run, take out the bricks, run back. The next round, we could run over and climb," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Okay. You take out the bricks, since I don't know where they are. This is really risky," Sakura said.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "I know."  
  
"The camera is coming…coming….came…going---go!" Sakura whispered as loud as she could.  
  
Tomoyo quickly darted forward and amazingly took out six bricks from the wall, and darted back.  
  
"Whew," Tomoyo panted, "Do you think the camera saw us?"  
  
"Nope," Sakura grinned.  
  
"Okay. Now, this is the hard part, I guess, since we have to climb over it in five seconds. After that, it should be a breeze, since none of the cameras keep an eye on the house. Or at least, they never did thirteen years ago, and no one nabbed me while I was running out," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Take a breath, and let's get ready to run," Sakura said.  
  
She and Tomoyo both took three, calming breaths and when Tomoyo snapped (it was their cue), they ran forward and climbed the wall.  
  
Sakura went first, and she climbed the wall like it was rock climbing (something Sakura used to do for fun at the gym), and threw her legs over to the other side.  
  
Her foot instinctively found a hole in the wall, and Sakura secured her balance and she pulled Tomoyo over.  
  
They jumped down from the wall, and rolled into the bushes.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo panted, "Do you think anyone saw us?"  
  
They giggled softly, and Tomoyo said, "Let's catch our breaths before climbing up the tree, going onto the porch, walking the gutter and going into the window.  
  
"Oh, walking the gutter? Won't it break from both our weights?" Sakura asked worriedly.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "You don't have to. You can wait in the tree, and I'll walk over, grab my cell phone and my clothes, then walk back. It'll be simpler if just one of goes, and less risk."  
  
Sakura nodded, "All right. You ready?"  
  
"I'm ready," Tomoyo said.  
  
They got up from where they had been hiding in, dusted their clothes off from dirt and leaves, and sauntered over to the tree.  
  
"Ugh, my clothes aren't having a good day," Tomoyo said as she started to climb the tree.  
  
Her back was smeared with dirt, and Sakura nodded, "A very bad day."  
  
The two of them climbed the tree with ease (years of running up trees and monkey bars gave them good practice), and Sakura sat on a strong branch as Tomoyo jumped onto the porch.  
  
She craftily tiptoed her way to the gutter, where she put on foot on, another, and started to walk.  
  
Tomoyo reached the window, which was open, where the curtains were aflutter.  
  
She peeked her head through.  
  
Nolly was still sleeping, heavily snoring, and Tomoyo's cell phone was in sight.  
  
Tomoyo excitedly climbed in, tiptoed to the table where her cell phone and clothes were, and dashed out the window.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo climbed back down the tree, and up and over the wall.  
  
Unfortunately, they had forgotten about the security cameras, in their haste, and soon they heard a security guard's voice yell, "Intruders escaping! Intruders escaping!"  
  
"Run!" Sakura shrieked, and the two dashed for their lives to the area where they had parked Sakura's car.  
  
"Damn keys," Sakura fished out the keychain from her pocket while running, and clicked the remote to unlock the front doors.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo hurriedly got inside, while Sakura turned on the engine, pulled the stick shift into 'reverse', and backed out.  
  
"Whew," Sakura let out a sigh once they were about a mile from the mansion, "That was close. Too close."  
  
"At least we're safe. And I got my cell phone and stuff. Hi five, girl!" Tomoyo and Sakura gave each other a high five, happy with their success.  
  
Sakura added, "But I'm never doing this again."  
  
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Eriol was in his room, fishing with some gadgets as he prepared for his break in into Mr. X's house in search of the disc.  
  
He had no clue that Syaoran and Touya had already kidnapped Mr. X and sent the ransom note.  
  
Eriol checked his watch.  
  
"Right before lunch time, I'll go," Eriol decided.  
  
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"Are you ready to go? We never know if your mom's bodyguards might come back," Sakura said, waiting for Tomoyo, who was jabbing silver earrings into her ears.  
  
"Uh huh," Tomoyo nodded, and fastened the earring back onto the silver studs.  
  
"Let's go," Tomoyo grabbed her purse, and made sure her cell phone, wallet and keys were inside.  
  
"Got enough money?" Sakura asked.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Yeah."  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo headed out the apartment, and on the way, Sakura smiled at a recent picture of Yuki, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling framed.  
  
Impulsively, Sakura took the picture and placed it face down, only showing the back of the frame.  
  
"Let's go," Sakura said, and they headed out.  
  
Once they got into the car, they drove downtown, heading to a clean outdoor café for lunch, called, 'Garden Café'.  
  
Sakura parked her car on the sidewalk, and locked it securely, and sat down with Tomoyo on a small table.  
  
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Eriol shook his head, disappointed at himself.  
  
Who was he to try and attempt a burglary in the middle of the day?  
  
"Eriol Hiiragizawa, that's who," he shook his long hair out of his face, and took a deep breath.  
  
He examined the fire escape, and stared up into the sky, where he presumed the twenty second floor was.  
  
(A/N: All right. Here's where my imagination kicks in. I've never actually lived in a really really tall apartment building, so I have no clue how fire escapes work. I've seen a couple on tv, but the scenes fly by too quickly. So, if I get details wrong about a fire escape, don't blame me.)  
  
Eriol glanced up again, and saw the edge of the ladder was about five feet above his head.  
  
Looking around, he made sure that no one was spying on him, and he walked back from the ladder several meters.  
  
Then, he started running towards the ladder, and took one flying leap.  
  
Eriol threw his arms out and miraculously, they caught onto the last rung of the ladder.  
  
He pulled himself up (thank goodness for all that pull up practice at the gym), and put his legs onto the wall of the apartment building for support.  
  
From there on, it was simple.  
  
He climbed up the different ladders, counting each floor he ascended, and he finally reached the twenty second floor.  
  
"Ha," Eriol said triumphantly.  
  
He flipped his switchblade he kept in his pocket open, and expertly cut around the screen door and pushed up the window.  
  
Eriol smiled victoriously as he stepped into the apartment, dusting off his black suit, and proceeded to ransack the place.  
  
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Sakura and Tomoyo were given menus, but they didn't need them to order.  
  
"I'll have the manager's lunch special," Sakura said, "The sandwich one."  
  
"Would you like a soup or salad with that?" the waitress asked, jotting down Sakura's order on a piece of paper.  
  
"Um…I'm not sure," Sakura said, "I'll have the salad."  
  
"Actually, I'll order the same thing but with the soup. We'll share," Tomoyo interrupted.  
  
The waitress nodded as she made another note on her paper, and said, "What kind of sandwich, salad and soup?"  
  
"The cesar salad, not too much croutons, and a grilled chicken sandwich with extra tomatoes," Sakura ordered.  
  
"I'll have the roast beef sandwich, and tomato soup," Tomoyo added.  
  
"All right. Your order will be here in ten minutes," the waitress nodded and smiled at them, and left.  
  
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Eriol finished searching under the couch and under its cushions, and proceeded into the kitchen.  
  
He finished rummaging through all the drawers and all the cabinets, much to no avail.  
  
Eriol sighed and headed towards the hallway, what if the disc turned out to not be here?  
  
Eriol went into the bathroom and did his usual search of everywhere, not bothering to clean up after himself.  
  
He headed into the bedroom, and something told him that he should look in the drawers.  
  
Eriol did so, and opened one of them, revealing shirts.  
  
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Tomoyo stood up and told Sakura, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."  
  
Sakura nodded, and Tomoyo took her handbag and left.  
  
Sakura patiently waited, her thoughts wandering away from the food they had ordered, to Yuki.  
  
Where was Yuki, anyways?  
  
She remembered that she had started worrying about him, until Tomoyo came back.  
  
"Shoot, I better call home and see if he's home," Sakura reached over for Tomoyo's cell phone, but it was in her purse, which she had taken to the bathroom.  
  
Sakura got up and headed towards the bathroom, where several payphones were.  
  
She reached into her pocket and got out several coins, and dialed Meiling's work phone.  
  
"Hey, Meiling, have you seen Yuki at all? He's been gone for almost two days, I think," Sakura said.  
  
"Oh really? Well, I guess he'll come back some time," Meiling said, "I'm kind of busy right now, so call me back later, okay?"  
  
Sakura nodded, even though Meiling couldn't see her, but Meiling hung up.  
  
Sakura took out more coins and put them into the payphone, and dialed Touya's number.  
  
It was busy, and Sakura put the coins that fell out from the phone back in, and dialed Eriol's cell phone.  
  
It didn't pick up, and Sakura was too lazy to put a message, so she called Syaoran.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran! Hi, I know you don't know him, but I'm worried about Yuki. He's been missing for a long time, I mean," Sakura said.  
  
"Hold up," Syaoran put down the phone for a second, and turned to look at Mr. X, who had sat up in the tiny cot, looking alertly at Syaoran.  
  
"Shh," Syaoran pressed a finger to his lips at the man, and Mr. X rolled his eyes contemptuously.  
  
"Okay. Sorry, can't be much help there," Syaoran said.  
  
"Well…could you at least listen to me?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sure. What does he look like?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Well, his name's Yuki. I think. Anyways, he's really, really pale…"  
  
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Eriol dug through the shirts…and found the disc.  
  
"Ha!" Eriol held up the disc triumphantly.  
  
Eriol got up and dusted himself off again, and headed out.  
  
He was about to head out the fire escape again, but who cared?  
  
So he went towards the front door, when he caught a glimpse of the back of a picture frame.  
  
Curious what picture Mr. X might have, he advanced towards it.  
  
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"Hey, let's go on our lunch break," Hanako said to Meiling.  
  
She looked up from filling up a needle with a heavy sedative, and asked, "I thought we didn't go out for lunch."  
  
"Aw, I felt like a break. Do you know any good places?" Hanako asked Meiling.  
  
"Well, Dr. Fumiyo," Meiling teased by using his formal name, "There's a good place me and my sisters go to often. It's called the Garden Café…it's a really nice outdoor lunch place, and the weather's great!" Meiling suggested.  
  
Hanako nodded, "The garden café it is. Get your jacket."  
  
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"He's also very skinny. I worry about him some," Sakura continued, "And he's bald. He usually wears a black suit and hat when he goes out, and sunglasses, too."  
  
Syaoran glanced at the man who was looking intently at the phone, and narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You said his name was YUKI?" he glanced at Mr. X, who didn't change his expression.  
  
"Yeah. He's been gone a long time. He goes out to work at night, and comes back in the morning. He's never missed a breakfast," Sakura said.  
  
"And so today he's gone. Interesting," Syaoran nodded, pointedly looking at Mr. X again.  
  
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Tomoyo finished drying her hands on the cloth towel inside the bathroom, and came out.  
  
She saw Sakura, who was talking on the phone.  
  
"Yeah. Listen, I got to go. But if you see anyone like that, please tell me," Sakura said, "Bye, Syaoran."  
  
"You were asking him if he saw Yu--watch out!" Tomoyo suddenly shrieked.  
  
Sakura whirled around, and gasped as she saw three huge men.  
  
"Hi, Bulldog. Nolly," Tomoyo nodded at the other man.  
  
They rolled up their sleeves, showing menacingly huge arms with muscles that weren't natural.  
  
"Oh god," Sakura whispered.  
  
"Run!" Tomoyo yelled, and Sakura darted to the side and slipped out into the open of the café.  
  
She aimed a kick at one of the men's butt, and he turned around.  
  
He shook his head, "That didn't hurt."  
  
Sakura closed her eyes and prepared to attack.  
  
She threw out a punch and it landed on his jaw, where she had intended to aim.  
  
In the back of her mind, she could hear one of the times Syaoran had lectured her in one of their private lessons, 'If the man is bigger than you, aim for their weaknesses. Remember, a nose is just a nose, his jaw is just a jaw…'  
  
"Aim and throw. Aim and throw," Sakura continued to repeatedly punch the man's jaw.  
  
"Argh," the man groaned, and picked up Sakura and held her around the waist.  
  
"Augh! Help!" Sakura shrieked to the people eating.  
  
They started screaming when they saw the three men fighting two small women.  
  
Sakura grunted as she struggled around in the man's grip, and she saw her target.  
  
She swung her leg forward and delivered a strong kick to the man's crotch.  
  
"Augh!" the man recoiled and fell down, and Sakura fell out of his hands.  
  
"And his balls are just his balls," Sakura muttered grimly as she dusted herself off.  
  
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"Did you hear that?" Meiling perked up her ears.  
  
"Sounds like screaming. Let's go check it out," Hanako started running towards the direction of the Garden Café, their destination.  
  
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Eriol went to the picture frame and flipped it over.  
  
He noticed the intricate silver frame, and glanced at the picture.  
  
His heart nearly stopped as he recognized the people in the photo.  
  
There was Sakura. Her green eyes, brown bouncy hair, and that same smile she wore.  
  
She had her arm around Meiling, who was smirking at the camera, her jet black hair tied up and her ruby eyes blazing with the usual fierceness.  
  
And Tomoyo….Tomoyo.  
  
She was smiling calmly at the camera, her usual poise and gracefulness there.  
  
Her long purple hair falling over her shoulder, and those amethyst eyes he loved to look into, and her glossy lips he would die to kiss.  
  
Eriol turned his eyes onto the man behind her, and he noticed that she was holding his hand.  
  
He glanced at the man, and then Eriol fumbled as he took out a photo of Mr. X and compared the two.  
  
There was no doubt about it, Mr. X was Yuki…who was the three girls' guardian.  
  
"No…it can't be…" Eriol said in shock.  
  
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Tomoyo was struggling in the grasps of Nolly and Bulldog, the two men.  
  
She was weaker than Sakura, and though she was putting up a good struggle, they were getting ready to leave, and take her back to her old house.  
  
Then she heard a distinct yell that sounded very much like Meiling.  
  
Tomoyo twisted her neck around, and yup, there was Meiling, who landed a kick to one of the men's neck, and Tomoyo thought she heard a crack come from his neck.  
  
Tomoyo winced as she was dropped down to the ground, and she quickly stood up.  
  
There was an empty table with some food on it (the people who had been eating had run away), and so Tomoyo grabbed the plate of spaghetti and slammed it into Nolly's face.  
  
He groaned and stumbled around blindly, and Tomoyo took the umbrella from the table and used the pole as a stick and hit Nolly's back.  
  
As soon as she was sure that he was on the floor moaning in pain, she went on to help Meiling, who was finishing up the other guy.  
  
"Whew. Thanks Meiling. Sorry but we got to go," Tomoyo made sure her purse was secure, and started running towards Sakura's car.  
  
Sakura hit the man who she had been beating up, making him unconscious.  
  
"Yeah, gotta go! Our table's number 28--make sure you get our food and have them put it in a doggy bag~!" Sakura yelled while darting to her car.  
  
They soon left, zooming out of the parking lane, leaving the Garden Café a mess, with three nearly-unconscious huge men on the ground.  
  
"What was that?" Hanako asked.  
  
Meiling shrugged, "Something about Tomoyo's mom trying to kidnap her."  
  
Hanako raised his eyebrows and asked, "Want to go to another restaurant?"  
  
Meiling nodded, "Definitely."  
  
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Syaoran closed his cell phone after staring at it for several minutes.  
  
He turned to Mr. X, who was looking at him.  
  
"Want to explain?" Syaoran asked simply.  
  
Mr. X shrugged.  
  
"You're Yuki, aren't you? Or Mr. X, or whatever. That means that we basically know each other; sorta," Syaoran mused.  
  
Mr. X shrugged again.  
  
"Talk, dammit!" Syaoran demanded, "You know this is a conflict for me. And you, probably. I mean, I know Sakura, Meiling's my cousin, and Tomoyo's Eriol's girlfriend. I care for those three girls like they're my sisters, and yet I have to do my job, but you're in the way."  
  
Mr. X shrugged once more, but he flashed Syaoran a teasing grin.  
"Oh, why does my life have to be so complicated? Sakura was right. I wish I were normal. I'm going to call Touya and tell him to take over for me," Syaoran said.  
  
He took out his cell phone quickly dialed Touya's number.  
  
"You! Hurry up and come over here and guard him till night, all right? I need to get some lunch and stretch my legs. And get this--Mr. X is Sakura and Meiling's guardian. Yeah, Yuki. Weird, huh? Hurry up and get here so we can talk. All right. See you in ten," Syaoran said.  
  
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Eriol dropped the picture frame and the glass shattered all over the floor, leaving dangerous sharp pieces of glittering glass on the carpet.  
  
He staggered out of the apartment, not bothering to worry about his fingerprints on the doorknob or such.  
  
He slowly went down the stairs…  
  
What should he do?  
  
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Tomoyo and Sakura were driving down the wonderful freeway system of Japan.  
  
"How long have we been driving?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo glanced at the glowing neon numbers, and said, "Almost four hours."  
  
Sakura looked at the gas meter, and muttered, "Shoot, we're out of gas."  
  
"Do you think they traced us? I mean, they didn't follow us, but who knows," Tomoyo said nervously, "Being out on the run is too scary. I could never be a fugitive."  
  
"Let's stop at the next city and stay the night there. Meiling won't worry about us, besides, we have your cell phone," Sakura said.  
  
"All right. There---that exit!" Tomoyo pointed, and Sakura quickly turned onto the ramp.  
  
They drove and turned into the quiet downtown parts of the city.  
  
"What town is this? It seems like a nice place," Sakura said, glancing at the closed petite flower and ice cream shops.  
  
"Um…ooh, there's that welcome sign. Keep on driving," Tomoyo squinted at a landmark in the distance.  
  
The car rolled to a stop near it, and Tomoyo read, "Welcome to the beautiful town of…Tomoeda."  
  
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End of chapter 11. Next chapter, "Home Sweet Home".  
  
A/N: Wow, the next time i post up chapter 12, it'll be May. I don't have much to say but...REVIEW!!! lol. That's all i want. I'm finishing chapter fifteen...i've added a delicious "twist" to it...muahaha, hint hint, someone dies. Chapter sixteen will be the ending and the epilogue...which means this series will be done by June. hopefully (Empasis on the "hope"), i'll have 100 reviews by then...PLEASE? haha gotta go now...bye! 


	12. Home Sweet Home

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 12: Home Sweet Home  
  
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"Tomoeda?" Sakura repeated.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Sounds like a nice place to live."  
  
"That word seems familiar…but I can't quite place my finger on it," Sakura mused.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "We should probably get a hotel room."  
  
"Yeah. C'mon," Sakura hopped back into the car, Tomoyo following her.  
  
They drove silently in the streets of the usual afternoon buzz, and Sakura looked around the streets.  
  
"Where do you think they have a motel here?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I don't know," Tomoyo said, "Maybe we should ask one of these people."  
  
"All right," Sakura pulled the car over and rolled down the window for Tomoyo, who stuck her head out.  
  
"Excuse me!" she called to a passing group of teenagers.  
  
They were about 17 or 18, a mix of the usual boys and girls hanging out.  
  
"Hey there," one of the guys winked at Tomoyo, who blushed slightly.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes and leaned over to the side of the window, "Do you guys know any nearby motels or inns we can stay the night?"  
  
One of the girls shrugged, "Probably not. Not that I know."  
  
Another girl spoke up, "Wait…they could probably stay at the Yamazaki place," she suggested.  
  
Sakura's ears perked up at the familiarity of the name.  
  
"Yeah, they're really hospitable. They usually house people who don't have a place to stay, since there's not very many of those people," a boy added.  
  
(A/N: I'd like to interrupt for a second. Before any of you wonder why Tomoyo doesn't recognize this place, it's because she never grew up here. Sakura and Touya did, but Tomoyo never did. Sorry. ^_^ )  
  
"Really. How cool," Tomoyo smiled, "Can you give us directions?"  
  
"If you give me your number," the boy who had complimented Tomoyo said.  
  
A girl quickly slapped the boy, but Tomoyo half-smirked, "Sorry, but I'm already taken, and I'm too old for you."  
  
"Here's some directions. It should be very easy to spot," the girl ripped off a sheet of paper from a pad and handed it to Tomoyo.  
  
"Thanks, you guys. Bye!" Sakura called, and rolled the window back up.  
  
"They're so cute," Tomoyo giggled.  
  
"I know. Don't they remind you of us?" Sakura asked, "We were always out hanging around with Meiling and Toby."  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Yeah, I know! C'mon, this says to go straight until you pass a grocery. Then, turn right, and keep on going. We'll leave the busier area, and pass through a grove of cherry blossoms."  
  
Tomoyo paused and grinned, "That's your name!"  
  
Sakura smiled, "I know! Here's the grocery store…turn right?"  
  
"Yeah. Then it says, turn left at Kingsly Street, another left at the third light, then we'll see a small brick red house," Tomoyo read.  
  
"All right," Sakura continued driving for several minutes, and they started passing the grove of cherry blossoms.  
  
"Aw…so pretty," Sakura admired the floating sakuras.  
  
They drove by it much too quickly, and reached the red house.  
  
"Do you think they'll take us in? How much do you think we'll have to pay?" Sakura asked nervously.  
  
"I don't know," Tomoyo said truthfully, "But why don't we get out of this car and actually ask them?"  
  
Sakura parked the car on the side of the street, and turned off the engine.  
  
"This is such a beautiful house," Sakura acknowledged, "The old-fashioned ones. The ones I always dreamed of growing up in."  
  
"You probably did," Tomoyo said, "I wish I grew up in a place like this with a father and mother…"  
  
"It's an old house," Sakura quickly changed the subject; she didn't want Tomoyo to think about her mother.  
  
"You ring the doorbell," Sakura directed Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo gave Sakura a look, "You!"  
  
"No, you!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"Hi, there!" the door opened.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo quickly turned their heads to face a smiling man whose eyes had scrunched up into slits from his broad grin.  
  
"Um hi," Sakura said, "Some teenagers downtown said that we could find a night to sleep here."  
  
"Did you know that nearly 5000 years ago, in the middle east, it was the custom to house anyone and feed them without asking any questions---augh!" the man stopped mid-sentence when a woman's hand clapped over his mouth and slapped his head.  
  
The two were the same age as Sakura and Tomoyo, judging from their looks.  
  
She dragged the man out of sight, and came back, wiping her hands on her jeans.  
  
She didn't look up as she said, "Sorry about that. My husband loves to make up crazy stories. He was always like that."  
  
The woman looked up, smiling apologetically, but froze, her face nearly in shock.  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura glanced at each other.  
  
The woman clapped a hand over her mouth, and screamed, "Takashi, come over here."  
  
The man came over, and his scrunched up eyes opened, and if possible, widened in horror.  
  
"Sakura….Sakura Kinomoto?" they whispered.  
  
"Um…" Sakura traded nervous looks with Tomoyo.  
  
"Yeah," Sakura finished uncomfortably.  
  
"Oh my god," the woman whispered, "We all thought you were dead. You, Touya and your father."  
  
Sakura was beginning to understand, "I'm guessing you guys knew me."  
  
The woman nodded slowly, "Don't you know me?"  
  
Sakura sighed, "Long story. First, can we come in?"  
  
The woman's hospitableness came back, "Of course. Sit down. Our house isn't much. Tea?"   
  
"Sure," Tomoyo said, and they sat down in the living room of the house.  
  
"So you are Sakura Kinomoto?" the man asked quietly.   
  
His grin has disappeared, and he looked dead serious.  
  
Sakura cleared her throat, "Guilty."  
  
"But…" the man started.  
  
"First, who are you?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Oh. I'm Takashi Yamazaki, and that's Chiharu, my wife of two years. We were both in Sakura's third grade class, along with Naoko and Rika," the man explained.  
  
Sakura had a blank expression on her face.  
  
"You don't remember us?" Takashi asked worriedly.  
  
"Here's the tea!" Chiharu came back cheerfully, holding a tray with three cups of steaming water with steeped bags of leaves.  
  
She set it down onto the coffee table, and handed Sakura and Tomoyo each a cup and took one for herself.  
  
"Hey, what about me?" Takashi complained.  
  
"Oh, shush. I'll give you an extra piece of pie for dessert. I didn't boil enough water. So, Sakura…how are you? How's Touya? And what's the deal with you disappearing and coming back after thirteen years?" Chiharu asked.  
  
"As you all know, thirteen is a very unlucky number, deriving from when---" Chiharu clamped her hand over his mouth once more.  
  
"I'm so sorry…but I can't…I don't remember you," Sakura said.  
  
Chiharu and Takashi looked at Sakura, dumbfounded.  
  
"You don't? What about us? You know, us wanting to be cheerleaders as soon as we got into 4th grade, and Takashi's stupid stories…you don't remember?" Chiharu asked sadly.  
  
Sakura shook her head, "I'm sorry. It's a long story."  
  
"We've got all night," Takashi said.  
  
"Well…from what I've pieced together, I lost my memory the day Touya and my father lost me. My father is dead," Sakura said.  
  
Chiharu and Takashi gasped, "Fujitaka?"  
  
Sakura shrugged, "I guess so. I just recently found Touya, barely a month ago. I can't remember absolutely anything about my past, or before that day I got shot at."  
  
Chiharu had her mouth gaping open, "I'm so sorry."  
  
"We're going to help her reclaim her memory!" Takashi declared, "For it was an ancient ritual that when a person of importance had amnesia, they--"  
  
"Shut up," Chiharu said.  
  
"Shutting up," Takashi nodded.  
  
"Who's she?" Takashi then asked, gesturing in Tomoyo's direction.  
  
"I thought she told you to shut up," Sakura said amusedly, "That's Tomoyo Yuki. Or Daidouji. She was a Daidouji."  
  
Chiharu clapped her hands in recognition, "You're that runaway daughter of that maniacal business tycoon!"   
  
Tomoyo smiled, "More or less."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Takashi extended his hand and shook Tomoyo's.  
  
"So how long have you two been married?" Sakura asked.  
  
Chiharu smiled, "Two years."  
  
Sakura said, awed, "Wow. That was pretty quick."  
  
"Well, we've known each other since we were babies. And now we're trying to make one---ouch!" Takashi, once more, got smacked on the head.  
  
"Children are nice," Tomoyo said bemusedly.  
  
Chiharu agreed, "I love children. But back to you, Sakura. I still can't believe that…after thirteen years, you suddenly reappear at my door, then you don't remember me?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Sakura sighed, "I wish I could. Really. I never thought about it…but these last few months have been crazy. I've met so many new people, found my brother, and now you guys. It's amazing!"  
  
"Fate has definitely intervened," Chiharu nodded.  
  
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After dinner and much, much talking, the girls decided to settle in for the night.  
  
"Um, where should we sleep?" Tomoyo asked, looking around.  
  
"Oh, we have the guest bedroom set out for you. It only has one king sized bed, so you two have to share," Chiharu said apologetically.  
  
"Oh, it's all right," Sakura answered, "That's fine."  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura headed to the bedroom, but they realized they had no clothes to change into, nor a toothbrush or anything else.  
  
"Damn it," Tomoyo swore under her breath.  
  
Sakura looked at her, surprised; Tomoyo usually never cursed.  
  
"What?" Sakura asked.  
  
"We don't have any of our stuff," Tomoyo said plainly.  
  
Sakura nodded, "I know. Should we go out to the drugstore and get some stuff?"  
  
Tomoyo shrugged, "Yeah. Let's go tell Chiharu and Takashi. They seem so nice…you're so lucky to have them as friends."  
  
Sakura answered, "Well…not really, I can't remember them, which sucks. But anyways, let's go."  
  
The two girls headed out and looked at the clock, which read 8.  
  
"Chiharu?" Sakura called.  
  
"Yeah?" Chiharu came out of her room and asked, "What do you need?"  
  
"We just realized we don't have any of our stuff, so we're going to go out to the drugstore to buy some stuff. You want to come? You could give us a hand with the directions," Sakura said.  
  
Chiharu grinned, "Sure."  
  
Five minutes later, all three girls and Takashi (he insisted on coming along), were in the Corolla, driving towards downtown.   
  
The sun had already set, and in the darkness, there were people hanging out in the sidewalks, illuminated by the light posts.  
  
"There's the drugstore. Just park the car and put some change into the meters," Chiharu directed.  
  
Sakura easily parallel parked the car on the side of the street and turned off the engine.  
  
They entered the drugstore, and immediately Tomoyo and Sakura headed over to the hygiene section.  
  
"Here's a basket," Chiharu handed Sakura and shopping basket.  
  
They found toothbrushes and put it into the basket, and went over to pick out some brushes for their hair when Tomoyo's cell phone rang.  
  
Tomoyo reached into her bag and got out her cell phone which was buzzing.  
  
She flicked it open and asked, "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, it's me, Meiling!" a voice said.  
  
"Oh hi, Meiling. Are you home?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Meiling responded, "Um…no. Where are you?"  
  
"In Tomoeda. We're staying out of the apartment tonight, just in case," Tomoyo explained.  
  
"Oh good, I'm not going to be home either---oh god, Hanako, that tickles!" Meiling exclaimed over the phone.  
  
Tomoyo made a face, "You're with Hanako? On duty or off?"  
  
Tomoyo knew Meiling well enough that she had blushed, "Off. I'm staying over at his house tonight, is that okay?"  
  
Tomoyo said dryly, "I can't stop you, can I?"  
  
Sakura grabbed the phone out of Tomoyo's hand and said into the phone, "Remember all those videos we watched in junior high about STDs!! You don't want to catch--"  
  
Tomoyo snatched the phone back and said, "What she means is to be careful."  
  
Meiling laughed, "We're just filing some patients folders over at his house."  
  
Tomoyo grinned, "You know how filing folders can turn you on. The way those papers just rustle around."  
  
Meiling laughed, "All right, all right. I promise, I won't do anything 'dangerous'. Gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"All right, bye." Tomoyo hung up and looked towards Sakura expectantly.  
  
They both shrugged at the same time, and turned back to the brushes.  
  
The girls quickly bought the necessities, brushes, toothbrushes, and other personal care items.  
  
"We need to buy some clothes," Sakura said to Chiharu, "Do you know any clothing shops that might still be open?"  
  
Chiharu snapped her fingers, "Naoko and Rika! We can go to their shop!"  
  
Takashi nodded eagerly, "Yeah!"  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows, "Naoko and Rika?"  
  
Chiharu pulled at Sakura, "More of your friends. First let's go to the check stand, then drive over to their store."  
  
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Twenty minutes later….  
  
Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu and Takashi got out of the car they had parked on the sidewalk, and walked towards a brightly lit store.  
  
It had a glass display window that showed mannequins wearing the latest styles.  
  
They entered the quiet store and Sakura was immediately greeted by a smiling girl with a round face and even rounder glasses with shoulder length straight hair, "Welcome to Tomoeda's prime fashion spot, ABC Fashion!"  
  
"Hey, Chiharu and Yamazaki! Who are these people?" a girl was sitting at the counter where she was flipping through a fashion magazine.  
  
She had fluffy curly hair that reached her shoulders, and she had a smiling, kind face, reminded Sakura of the mothers on baby food commercials.  
  
"Um…this is Tomoyo Daidouji--" Chiharu started to explain, but Tomoyo cut her off and said, "Tomoyo Yuki."  
  
"And Sakura Kinomoto."  
  
The two girls snapped their heads up, and stared at Sakura suddenly, making her flush.  
  
"Hi?" Sakura managed to say weakly.  
  
"Sakura? Oh my god, it IS SAKURA!!!!" the girl with the glasses ran towards her and engulfed her into a hug.  
  
"Oh my gosh," the other girl sitting on the counter said quietly.  
  
She set her magazine on her lap (the latest edition of Vogue), and jumped off the counter softly, making the magazine fall onto the floor.  
  
The girl came over and hugged Sakura, also.  
  
Sakura was embarrassed by all the attention, and she looked towards Takashi, who seemed unaffected by the reunion, and was staring in fascination at some leopard skin bras and matching thongs.  
  
"Wait," Chiharu interrupted, "There's one major thing you need to know."  
  
Sakura nodded in agreement, "Major."  
  
"What is it?" the two girls stepped back.  
  
"I can't remember any of you," Sakura breathed, "I'm sorry."  
  
The one with the glasses looked confused, "You mean you have amnesia?"  
  
"Thirteen years ago, Mr. Kinomoto got killed and Sakura and Touya were separated, with Sakura having a memory loss. They reunited a short while ago," Chiharu summarized.  
  
"Oh," the other girl nodded, and smiled.  
  
She stuck out her hand and said, "Hi. I'm Rika Sasaki."  
  
"Hi," Sakura said, "I'm Sakura Kinomoto."  
  
"Nice to meet you," the other girl butted in, "I'm sorry about your loss. My name's Naoko Yanagisawa."  
  
"Hi, Naoko. And don't worry about my father, he's long dead," Sakura joked lightly.  
  
Naoko smiled timidly, "All right. So you came here to shop?"  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo nodded, "We need enough clothes to last us a night and a day."  
  
"You came to the perfect place. We have undergarments," Rika swept her arms to the side to show the racks of bras and panties, making the girls turn their heads to see Takashi, who had picked up a thong and was stretching it out curiously.  
  
"Takashi!" Chiharu stomped over and grabbed the article out of his hands, smacked his head and dragged him by the ear to wait in the car.  
  
"All right. We'll start there," Sakura said.  
  
She and Tomoyo headed over there and bought two of plain pink and blue cotton panties and bras, a pair of tan dog-print pajamas, and started walking towards the clothing section for a change of clothes.  
  
Naoko went to the accessory section to straighten up some fallen headbands, and Rika resumed her position on the counter and picked up her magazine.  
  
When she picked it up, it opened directly to a full page of a modestly smiling auburn haired, green eyed beauty wearing a simple peasant top and jeans, made by Armani Exchange.  
  
"Oh my gosh, my eyes must be deceiving me, Sakura is this you?" Rika held up the magazine and shouted to Sakura.  
  
Sakura turned her head from the shirts she had been eying and glanced at Rika.  
  
"Oh, hey, that really is me!" Sakura walked over to Rika and took the magazine, "I didn't think they'd be really putting me into the magazine."  
  
"God, Sakura. You're so lucky," Naoko said wistfully, "I'd die to have my face in a world renown magazine like that."  
  
"I'm just doing it for the money," Sakura shrugged, "it's not like I'll get famous or anything."  
  
"Still," Naoko said thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, back to shopping," Sakura pointed back to the racks.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Rika scanned all of the tags and rung up the total, "Fifty dollars and twenty three cents."  
  
Sakura took out some cash and laid it down on the counter while Naoko wrapped the clothes in tissue paper and put them into a paper bag with the label, 'ABC Fashion'.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura took the bags.  
  
"So I guess I'll see you around?" Naoko asked hopefully.  
  
Sakura nodded, "Definitely. And I love these clothes! This is a great shop you guys opened up."  
  
Rika shrugged, "It's just our job."  
  
Sakura nodded again and said, "Do you guys have e-mail or cell phones I can call?"  
  
"Ooh, I'll give you my celly," Naoko said.  
  
She took a pen from a small cup on the counter and uncapped it.  
  
In her cute roundish handwriting, she wrote down her cell phone number on a small scrap of paper.  
  
"Here," Naoko passed the pen to Rika, who accepted the paper and pen and also scribbled her home and cell phone numbers down.  
  
Sakura pocketed the scrap and gave Naoko a huge hug, "I'm glad I met you."  
  
"Me too, Sakura," Naoko returned the hug.  
  
Sakura went to Rika and also gave her a hug, and Tomoyo tried to shake her hand with Naoko, "Nice to meet you--"  
  
"Aw, don't be so stiff. We're friends too!" Naoko exclaimed and reached over to give Tomoyo a bear hug.  
  
Tomoyo giggled, "All right."  
  
"It's time for us to go," Sakura said, "I'll call you guys and we should get together for coffee or something!"  
  
Rika nodded, "Of course. And maybe if we go to the city, we'll stop by your house!"  
  
"Okay. See ya!" Sakura waved a goodbye with Tomoyo to the two people, and headed out, accompanied by Takashi and Chiharu.  
  
They got into the car and Sakura revved up the engine, and she drove once more to the Yamazaki house.  
  
"So…do you know what happened to the house I lived in?" Sakura asked curiously.  
  
Takashi and Chiharu exchanged looks, "Well…you probably studied government. If a will isn't written out stating who gets your property, then…"  
  
"It goes to the government," Sakura nodded, "That sucks."  
  
"Well, the people living there are really nice," Chiharu said, "But…"  
  
She exchanged another look with Takashi, "We think they still might have your stuff in the city storage. I mean, they usually hold that stuff for a long time just in case someone comes back to claim it."  
  
"Can we go check it out?" Sakura asked eagerly.  
  
Takashi shook his head, "Maybe tomorrow. The storage places are closed by now."  
  
"Oh," Sakura said disappointedly, "I guess tomorrow."  
  
"Sorry," Chiharu apologized, "But tomorrow, I promise!"  
  
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Sakura spat out the toothpaste and filled a small plastic cup up with water.  
  
She put the water into her mouth and quickly gargled, and spat out the gross stuff.  
  
Tomoyo and her had changed into their pajamas, and they got into the king sized bed, Sakura on the left side and Tomoyo on the other.  
  
Sakura flicked off the light and closed her eyes, ready to go to sleep, when Tomoyo's voice interuppted her.  
  
"So are you going to go to the storage place tomorrow?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Sakura nodded, "Yeah. I really hope they have my stuff…"  
  
Tomoyo's voice cracked, "Yeah."  
  
Sakura sat up and turned the light back on, "Tomoyo, what's wrong?"  
  
Tomoyo shook her head, "Nothing…it's stupid."  
  
"Nothing's stupid, Tomoyo," Sakura said.  
  
"It's just that…oh, forget it. Once I say it I'm going to sound like a jerk," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Just spit it out, Tomoyo. Please? I can help you?" Sakura pleaded.  
  
"All right. It's just that…ever since the past couple of weeks, I've been feeling sort of left out. And jealous," Tomoyo whispered the last word.  
  
"What? Why?" Sakura asked, surprised.  
  
"I mean, Meiling's caught up with her own new job, dating Hanako and having fun. You're a model, you have these great friends over here, a wonderful family and Touya. And I just feel like plain old Tomoyo. You even changed your last name back to Kinomoto…and I feel like I'm rooted in the same spot while you and Meiling are moving on," Tomoyo explained.  
  
Sakura reached over and gave Tomoyo a hug, "Come on. You're lucky, too. I would kill to have a great boyfriend like Eriol. And even though you're the same, Tomoyo, that's what I love about you. I can always depend on you to stabilize me."  
  
"But what if I don't want to? What if I want to change, get wild and come back home at three? But I can't. I have to be the nurturer in the family, the one to clean up everything after the mess," Tomoyo burst out exasperatedly.   
  
"This is about your mother, isn't it?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
Tomoyo nodded unhappily, "Yeah."  
  
"Damn her," Sakura said, "What should we do?"  
  
Tomoyo sighed, "I don't know. I guess Eriol and Syaoran could keep us company, just in case."  
  
"Yeah. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll call them and ask them to be our escorts," Sakura said.  
  
Tomoyo nodded again, "Okay."  
  
Sakura reached over and turned the light back off and laid down.  
  
She was silent for several minutes but whispered, "Tomoyo?"  
  
"Mm?" Tomoyo mumbled.  
  
"Change isn't always the best. And I'll try to be the mother next time. And I love you."  
  
"Okay…" Tomoyo drifted off into sleep, and Sakura smiled contentedly.  
  
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"Bye," Sakura tenderly hugged Chiharu.  
  
"Oh, Sakura, I'll miss you like crazy. You too, Tomoyo," Chiharu said to Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo smiled bashfully, "It was nice to meet you, too."  
  
"Bye, Takashi!" Sakura said to Takashi, who was smiling despite his sadness that Sakura and Tomoyo were leaving.  
  
"Keep in touch, okay? I gave you our house and cell phone numbers, so give us a ring whenever. We all have to get together for coffee one day," Chiharu said.  
  
"I promise," Sakura said.  
  
"Here's the directions to the city storage. I'm not sure if they'll allow you to take any of the stuff, but I'm sure they'll let you look at it," Takashi handed Sakura a slip of paper.  
  
"Thanks. I owe you both big time," Sakura said.  
  
Chiharu waved it off, "It was nothing. Have a safe trip!"  
  
Sakura nodded and Tomoyo led the way back to the car.  
  
They drove out of the driveway of the quaint house and headed towards the inner city parts where Takashi had told them the storage place was.  
  
Sakura drove silently to the gates of the public storage and rolled down her window to speak to the attendant in the booth.  
  
"Hi, my name is Sakura Kinomoto," Sakura began, "I haven't been here in over thirteen years, but my family used to live here. Fujitaka and Touya Kinomoto. And I was told that I could look at my stuff?"  
  
The man inside the booth squinted at Sakura, "All right. But you're not allowed to take anything unless you show us some identification and proof that you're related to the Kinomotos."  
  
Sakura nodded, "I'll come by next time."  
  
The man pressed a button and the gate opened up, and he said, "Storage garage number thirty nine."  
  
Sakura drove the car inside, and Tomoyo pointed, "That way. Numbers 30 through 40."  
  
Sakura steadily took the car to number 39, and stopped it.   
  
She wasn't surprised when the garage automatically opened (it was controlled by that man, who was watching her through video cameras).  
  
When the metal door finished rolling up, Sakura stared in shock at her belongings.  
  
The garage was filled up to the ceiling with boxes, most of them messily packed and overflowing, a dresser and couch here and a bed there.  
  
"Wow, Sakura," Tomoyo said, voicing pretty much Sakura's thoughts.  
  
"Help me open some of these boxes," Sakura's voice shook slightly.  
  
They stepped into the garage and they both grabbed a box, and once the opened it, it revealed tons of fat photo albums.  
  
"Look, they're labeled," Tomoyo showed Sakura, who nodded.  
  
She opened the first one and Sakura breathed in sharply.  
  
There were her baby picture…the first one she had ever seen in her life.  
  
Tears came to Sakura's eyes as she flipped through the pages of the plastic album, seeing repetitive photos of a small baby dressed in pink, with tiny wisps of brown hairs.  
  
There were different people with her, one of them was a young, sullen boy who glared at the camera.  
  
"Touya," Sakura smiled at the picture, "There he is."  
  
"Oh my gosh, look at these. These are spectacular, look at the way they took these. It must've been a great camera," Tomoyo showed Sakura a different album, with hundred of pictures of a model.  
  
"That's my mom," Sakura breathed in awe, "These are a lot of pictures. Touya told me that Father changed her picture in the living room everyday."  
  
Tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I miss him. I miss both of them."  
  
Tomoyo hugged Sakura supportively, "I know you do."  
  
"I just wish I could remember them…it's horrible not remembering anything. There's Father. Touya was right, he looks like a professor," Sakura said.  
  
Sakura sniffed and glanced at Tomoyo, "Do you think we can- sneak some of these photos out?" she whispered the last part.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Just stuff them in your shirt."  
  
Sakura found the best four photos, one was a photo of her parent's wedding, the other was a family portrait of four of them (before Nadeshiko died), one was when Sakura was eight years old in a cheerleading Halloween costume, and the last was the picture of Sakura when she was baby, with Touya glaring at the camera.  
  
(A/N: I've noticed that in several fanfictions, many authors state that Nadeshiko died during Sakura's birth (or right afterwards…how could you die in the middle of it? O.o ). Anyways, I'd just like to say that Nadeshiko died when Sakura was two, of leukemia. Or so my sources say. ^_^ )  
  
Sakura neatly placed them under her shirt and placed her hand on her stomach as she walked out.  
  
"Let's go," Sakura said.  
  
As they backed out of the area, the garage door rolled down automatically, and Sakura nodded at the man in the gate booth as she left.  
  
"I'll have to come back and get all of our stuff," Sakura mumbled to herself.  
  
"Sakura? We're almost out of gas. How about we stop to put some in, and we can call Eriol or Syaoran to escort us back?" Tomoyo suggested.  
  
"Perfect," Sakura spun the steering wheel into a gasoline station, and took out the pictures from her shirt and laid them on the dashboard.  
  
"You call them with your cell," Sakura said, "I'll put in the gas."  
  
As Sakura paid money and took out the nozzle, Tomoyo speed-dialed Eriol's cellular phone number.  
  
"Eriol's not picking up," Tomoyo said when she heard his voice message, "I'll call Syaoran."  
  
Sakura nodded absentmindedly to Tomoyo, who quickly dialed Syaoran.  
  
"Hello, Syaoran? Hi. Um, right now we're in Tomoeda, and we were wondering if you could come here and help us out a little."  
  
"Why?" Syaoran asked. He was in the dungeon cell with Mr. X.  
  
"Well, last time we tried to go anywhere, some of my mother's thugs attacked us. My mom wants to kidnap me. And since you're good at martial arts and all, couldn't you protect us?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Oh, all right. Why don't we meet at the exit of highway 98? The donut and gas station over there. It's going to take me too long to drive all the way to Tomoeda," Syaoran said.  
  
"All right. See you in about two hours," Tomoyo flipped her cell phone closed.  
  
"Was that Syaoran?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yeah. We're going to meet at the donut and gas station off route 98," Tomoyo explained.  
  
"All righty. Let's go," Sakura said.  
  
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Syaoran closed his cell phone and turned to Mr. X, who was patiently sitting on the cot.  
  
"I'm going to call Touya and have him guard you," Syaoran said.  
  
He muttered under his breath, "Though it doesn't seem like anyone's going to be coming for you. I wonder if they got the ransom note."  
  
"Hey Touya?" Syaoran asked into the cell phone, "Hurry up and come down here. I have some business to attend to."  
  
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Syaoran came over into the car, and Tomoyo got out to let Syaoran sit in the front passenger seat.  
  
"So, what do you want me to do?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
"Just keep an eye out for any strange people. We were at the Garden Café and these men started advancing towards us, as if they were going to beat us up. Thanks to your self defense lessons, and Meiling, we managed to escape," Sakura retold the story.  
  
Syaoran nodded, "All right. I won't ask any more questions."  
  
"Thanks," Tomoyo looked relieved.  
  
"First, we'll go home," Sakura said, "I'm beat out."  
  
Sakura turned back onto the highway, and Syaoran asked curiously, "Where did you guys sleep last night?"  
  
"Tomoeda. It turned out that Touya and I used to live there with our father," Sakura pointed towards the pictures on the dashboard, which Syaoran picked up.  
  
He flipped through them, pausing at the baby picture with Touya.  
  
"Touya looks exactly the same," Syaoran chuckled.  
  
Sakura grinned, "Of course."  
  
They quickly drove over to the apartment, and carefully parked the car in the garage.  
  
"Keep your eyes peeled," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura nervously swallowed as she looked around.  
  
"But look discreet," Syaoran added.  
  
They made it safely into the building and started up the steps.  
  
Tomoyo asked, "I wonder if Meiling's here."  
  
"I don't think so. I think she's still with Hanako," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran rose his eyebrows, "Still with Hanako?"  
  
"She spent the night at his house," Tomoyo explained.  
  
She paused, "I don't think they did anything."  
  
"He better not have," Syaoran cracked his knuckles menacingly, "She's still my little cousin."  
  
Sakura giggled, "She's lucky."  
  
"Maybe so," Syaoran shrugged.  
  
They came to the door and Sakura turned it, expecting it to be locked.  
  
It wasn't.  
  
"Didn't we lock the door?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.  
  
"I think so," Tomoyo said.  
  
She twisted the doorknob and opened the door.  
  
The house was a mess.  
  
"Oh my god," Sakura whispered.  
  
She rushed into the apartment with Tomoyo, who gasped at the broken glass, items scattered around the floor, drawers open and roughly dug through.  
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End of chapter 12. Next chapter, "Investigations and Some Action."  
  
A/N: Yay! We're done with this chapter! Next one will be up on the 17th (Armed Forces Day, btw. ^_^). Just to let you know, I'm practically finished with the last chapter…this series will be ending around the middle of June. Thanks for review, so REVIEW! 


	13. Investigations and Some Action

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 13: Investigations and Some Action  
  
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Eriol laid on the couch.  
  
He felt his forehead, but his hand was too sweaty to see if he had a fever or not.  
  
"I better get myself a drink," he murmured to himself.  
  
After he had stumbled out of Tomoyo's apartment, he went straight home and had a drink (a bottle of vodka), and hid the disc.  
  
He had wandered into Syaoran's room and shoved the disc in a desk drawer. It'd be safe there for now.  
  
After that, he went straight to sleep.  
  
Now he was awake and feeling horrible.  
  
He got up, and lurched forward from the head rush, and put his hand down on the couch to stabilize himself.  
  
The leather on the couch seemed freezing cold to him, so Eriol grabbed a blanket on his way to the mini-bar.  
  
He very tiredly sat down on the barstool and rested his head on the cool marble, and got himself a beer.  
  
Eriol guzzled it down and crushed the metal can in his hand, and started thinking.  
  
Did Tomoyo know that Eriol was working for Tsukiro?  
  
Did Tomoyo know that Mr. X, or Yuki, was part of the Noshiko gang?  
  
What if Tomoyo knew all of that and was part of a Noshiko conspiracy to get rid of the Tsukiro gang?  
  
Eriol groaned.  
  
He stood up and took out a their largest bottle of tequila and got out a mug.  
  
He filled it up to the top and drank it down, wincing from the strong bitter taste.  
  
Maybe Tomoyo was trying to lure him in and kill him.  
  
What about Sakura and Meiling? But Meiling was Syaoran's cousin. Or was she?  
  
Or what if there was no conspiracy, and this was just a huge coincidence?  
  
Or could Syaoran and Touya be in on the conspiracy!   
  
Wait, there was no conspiracy!  
  
Or was there?  
  
Maybe the whole world was out to get him.  
  
"Ugh….." Eriol moaned.  
  
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"We need to call the police," Sakura said unsteadily.  
  
"No!" Tomoyo cried out, "My mom bribed the police. If they see me, they're going to alert her, and it'll give them a sure head on where I live."  
  
"Fine, then. Check if anything's missing," Syaoran said.  
  
He stepped closer in, gingerly stepping over the shards of broken glass and items on the floor.  
  
"What do you think they were looking for?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"What makes you think that the person was looking for anything? We have nothing valuable in our house, and I'm sure Yuki didn't have anything worth someone breaking in," Sakura said.  
  
"Maybe they were just ransacking the place," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I don't think so…damn it, Toby warned me last time that I should lock the window where the fire escape was," Sakura moaned.  
  
"Should've taken his advice," Tomoyo sighed, "Now we have a huge mess to clean up."  
  
Syaoran wandered over to the bedroom, where he spotted a piece of cloth lying on the ground.  
  
He picked it up and sniffed it.  
  
Turning it over and looking at the pattern of the cloth, he instantly recognized it as Eriol's.  
  
"Shit," Syaoran cursed.  
  
Sakura had said something about Yuki…and damn it, Yuki lived here. Or Mr. X.  
  
Eriol had probably broken in here, looking for the disc, and found out that Yuki was actually Mr. X.  
  
Which reminded Syaoran, should he tell the three girls that Yuki was in fact a computer genius working for a drug ring?  
  
"Nah," Syaoran said aloud.  
  
"Nah what?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran quickly pocketed the cloth and spun around, "Nothing's missing, I don't think."  
  
"Like you'd know," Sakura said sharply.  
  
She softened and said, "Sorry. Just feeling a bit pissed off."  
  
"Yeah…we should clean up," Syaoran said.  
  
"You can sweep up the glass. You wouldn't want us girls to hurt ourselves on the sharp glass, now would you?" Sakura teased.  
  
Syaoran half grinned and headed out.  
  
Tomoyo had picked up the picture frame and the picture.  
  
"That's Yuki," Tomoyo said, pointing to a man in the picture.  
  
No doubt about it, that was Mr. X.  
  
Now, Mr. X was holed up in a cell in a warehouse…and pretty much worrying Sakura and Tomoyo.  
  
"Is he missing?" Syaoran asked casually, getting out a broom and trash can.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "Sakura told you, didn't she?"  
  
Syaoran shrugged as he swept up the glittery shards.  
  
"Oh," Tomoyo sighed, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to take a nap."  
  
"I'll stay here and clean up."  
  
Syaoran continued to clean up the apartment, and heard Tomoyo and Sakura organizing the bedroom.  
  
Syaoran was in deep thought as he put back the cushion seats on the couch.  
  
What should he do?  
  
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Touya walked into the cell, purposing jangling the keys loudly.  
  
He sat down on the chair Syaoran had used, and nodded to Mr. X.  
  
He took out a worn book and flipped to his page, and began to read.  
  
Three words later, he burst out, "I can't take it anymore. We have to talk. What's the deal?"  
  
Mr. X shrugged, with an innocent carefree look that read, "What deal?"  
  
"You know what I mean. The fact that you've taken in my sister and her two friends for thirteen years. And you're involved in this. What a horrible influence you've been. And the fact that they haven't even found out yet," Touya said.  
  
He continued on, "I'm burdened with guilt. Part of me wants to run away, let you go, and take Sakura with me. But part of me is bound to a certain man named Tsukiro Akatchi, and if I betray him, god knows what he'll do to me."  
  
Mr. X nodded, but slyly grinned.  
  
Touya stopped cold, staring at Mr. X's face.  
  
Mr. X stopped smiling and resumed his neutral look.  
  
"Do that again," Touya ordered.  
  
Mr. X complied, and Touya let out a soft sigh, "You look just like Yukito. Add a pair of glasses, some blondish hair and a permanent smile, you'd be just him."  
  
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The hours quickly passed that day.  
  
The girls cleaned up the apartment, with Syaoran helping them.  
  
Syaoran called Touya and asked him to stay the night in the cell, since he had some work to do.  
  
And as usual, Meiling was at work, and she called once more to say that she wouldn't be coming home that night.  
  
"Well, come home tomorrow morning," Sakura ordered.  
  
"All right," Meiling hung up.  
  
Sakura turned to Syaoran, who was about to say something.  
  
"I think I'll sleep here tonight," Syaoran said awkwardly, "Never know what might happen."  
  
"You can sleep on the couch or the hallway. I'd offer you the bed, but that'd be rather uncomfortable," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran whole-heartedly agreed, "Definitely."  
  
"Okay. I'll get you some blankets and pillows," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran nodded and raked a hand through his hair as he waited.  
  
Sakura soon returned with several blankets and cushions, and quickly made him a makeshift bed on the couch.  
  
"Sorry," Sakura apologized.  
  
"No need. I'll be comfortable enough," Syaoran said.  
  
"Okay. If you get hungry during the night, feel free to dig through the fridge," Sakura said.  
  
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When Syaoran woke up in the morning, it took him a moment to quickly wonder why he was sleeping on a couch.  
  
"Mrgh," Syaoran mumbled as he stretched.  
  
The past events quickly flashed back to him, and what stood out the most was how to tell Sakura and Tomoyo that their dear Yuki was locked up with Touya guarding them.  
  
He didn't have to tell them, did he?   
  
Well…  
  
Syaoran then decided to keep his mouth shut.  
  
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Around ten o' clock that day, Meiling breezily walked through the door, "Hello! Hi, Syaoran!"  
  
"Mmm," Syaoran nodded at his cousin and took a bite out of his bagel.  
  
"Finally you're home!" Tomoyo frowned at Meiling.  
  
She blushed and grabbed a piece of bagel from Syaoran's plate, "Sorry. I lost track of time. At least I called!"  
  
"Psh," Sakura said, "What did you DO with him?"  
  
Meiling feigned innocence, "With who?"  
  
"Shut up. You know what I mean," Tomoyo said.  
  
"I swear, I didn't do ANYTHING with him that is against the code of the Yuki sisters. I just spent the night at his house, and we snuggled and watched movies. I told him how I felt, and he understood. There!" Meiling said.  
  
"Oh, all right. But isn't it against some rule at your workplace, people dating each other?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Nope," Meiling said, "Thank God."  
  
She turned to Syaoran, "Why are you here?"  
  
Sakura quickly explained what had happened, and that Syaoran was acting as their bodyguard.  
  
"Oh gosh," Meiling whispered, "Someone broke in? And ransacked the place? Did they steal anything?"  
  
"No. And my mom hasn't tried anything yet. But I have a feeling it was her bodyguards to mess up the place like this," Tomoyo said.  
  
Syaoran practically snickered as he knew how wrong they were.  
  
"So you're basically saying that you're hiding from your mom?" Meiling asked.  
  
Tomoyo nodded unhappily.  
  
"Why don't you give Syaoran a break and go over to Eriol's? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," Meiling suggested.  
  
"Good idea," Tomoyo said.  
  
She took the phone and quickly punched in their apartment's phone number.  
  
"Hello?" Eriol asked groggily.  
  
"Eriol? Did I wake you?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Tomoooyo," Eriol slurred.  
  
"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.  
  
He laughed drunkenly on the other end, "No. I'm not. I just…"  
  
Syaoran mentally smacked himself as he heard Eriol's voice over the phone.  
  
Of course, Eriol would get all crazy over that.   
  
He was in love with Tomoyo, and finding out that Yuki was Mr. X would definitely question everyone he trusted.  
  
And he couldn't let that happen to his best friend.  
  
Syaoran grabbed Tomoyo, a little too roughly in her opinion, and said, "Go over there and help him. He's probably drunk as hell, and don't pay any attention to him if he starts talking about drugs or Mr. X or gangs or discs, okay?"  
  
Tomoyo raised her eyes skeptically, "Why?"  
  
Syaoran faltered for a moment, but quickly said, "Bad dream he had a couple days ago. I don't want you to believe what he says and freak out."  
  
Tomoyo seemed to buy the explanation and nodded, "Okay."  
  
She turned back to the phone and said, "I'll be right over there in a moment, all right?"   
  
"Uuuuhhh…okay," Eriol said, "Bye bye!"  
  
"I'll come home tonight," Tomoyo said, as she began to put some stuff into her purse, "Don't worry about me. I have my cell phone, so I'll be fine on the way over."  
  
"No, I'll escort you. I don't want anything to happen to you," Syaoran said.  
  
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."  
  
Sakura felt a slight twinge in her heart when she heard Syaoran telling Tomoyo he didn't want anything to happen to her.  
  
Was it jealousy?  
  
No…it couldn't be. Syaoran and her were just friends.  
  
But Sakura couldn't deny the attraction she felt for him.  
  
"Sakura?" Meiling waved her hand over her best friend's face, "They're gone."  
  
"Oh," Sakura quickly snapped out of it, "All right. Um, what should we do?"  
  
"I think we need to find Yuki," Meiling declared.  
  
"You're right. Let's go," Sakura said, pulling together some stuff into her purse.  
  
"Go where?" Meiling asked, "I just got home."  
  
Sakura took a deep breath and said, "I think Yuki's involved in something dangerous. A long time ago, maybe a couple of months, I saw him walking somewhere and I followed him to this old warehouse. There were these men and they were talking about drugs and money."  
  
Meiling's jaw dropped open, forming an O.  
  
She recovered quickly and said, "Where's the warehouse?"  
  
"We're going there right now," Sakura said grimly.  
  
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Syaoran made sure Tomoyo got safely into their apartment, but didn't drop in to say hi to Eriol, who seemed to be wailing oldies songs in his drunken state of mind.  
  
He hoped Tomoyo would be fine there, and even more hoped that Eriol wouldn't say anything that would make Tomoyo suspicious.  
  
Syaoran took his Lexus and drove over to the headquarters.  
  
"Come in," Tsukiro boomed.  
  
Syaoran entered the door, and closed the door.  
  
He had a split second to duck from a dart hurled at the target behind him, and Tsukiro laughed, "Good boy."  
  
Syaoran grimaced inwardly, but smiled fakely and said, "We've gotten Mr. X, and sent out the ransom note. However, there's been no reply."  
  
"How long has it been?" Tsukiro wanted to know.  
  
"I'm not sure. Definitely over forty eight hours, however," Syaoran said.  
  
Tsukiro nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin in the way only evil men could, "Send out another note. Maybe they didn't receive it."  
  
"I'll do that as soon as possible," Syaoran nodded.  
  
"Good," Tsukiro smiled evilly, "Perfect. And remember, we want the disc."  
  
"Yes, sir," Syaoran bowed stiffly in respect, and turned to walk out.  
  
He quickly ducked again as another dart came his way, and it landed on the bull's eye of the target.  
  
"Sharp," Tsukiro complimented.  
  
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"Are you sure this is safe?" Meiling asked nervously as they crept around the boxes and crates inside the abandoned factory, lit by the sunlight from the hole in the roof.  
  
"What happened to the fearless Meiling?" Sakura teased softly.  
  
"She ran away, much like I want to right now," Meiling said.  
  
She switched the subject, "Where do we go now?"  
  
"Where the leader is," Sakura said.  
  
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Sakura nervously looked at the huge man that was standing there with his arms crossed, "What do you want?"  
  
"We want to see your leader," Meiling said.  
  
She smirked at the gigantic tub of testosterone, her confidence back.  
  
"And who might you be?" he shot back.  
  
"This is concerning someone who we think works for you. His name is Yuki. He's tall, pale, about twenty eight-ish, doesn't speak, bald, wears black a lot, etc?" Sakura asked impatiently.  
  
"Oh, Mr. X," the man nodded, "What about him? And who might you be? Never knew he'd have such hot chicks with him. Tell me, sweetie--"  
  
Meiling cut him off, knowing where the conversation was directing, "Not that way. We're his sisters. He's our legal guardian."  
  
"Hot sisters," the man smirked.  
  
"Shut up," Sakura retorted, "Just tell us where we can find him. He's missing."  
  
The guy nodded again, "Fine. I'll take you to our leader."  
  
The two women followed the bulky man through a maze of halls and staircases that was below the warehouse, sort of like an underground headquarters.   
  
Come to think about it, it actually was an underground headquarter.  
  
They were finally at a large door, where the man knocked, "Mr. Noshiko? There are two women here wanting to talk to you."  
  
"Let them in!" Noshiko boomed.  
  
Sakura and Meiling exchanged looks but walked into the door.  
  
They saw a hugely fat man sitting on a leather executive chair, smoking a huge cigar which was spewing out bits of black particles onto the carpet.  
  
"Who are you?" Noshiko demanded.  
  
Meiling said boldly, "We want to know where Yuki--"  
  
"Mr. X," the bodyguard interrupted to clarify.  
  
"--Mr. X," Meiling corrected, "Is. He's been missing, and Sakura," Meiling gestured at her, "said that she saw him here once."  
  
Noshiko smirked at them, "He was here. But he's gone now."  
  
"Where?" Sakura asked.  
  
Noshiko doused his cigar in a cup of murky water and opened one of the drawers.  
  
Sakura and Meiling exchanged nervous glances as he took out several handguns and laid them on the table.  
  
Then, he took out a slip of paper.  
  
"This is the ransom note we found," Noshiko said.  
  
Sakura stepped forward to get it and unfolded the sheet.  
  
"We have your man in our possession. Give us the disc. Meeting place to be announced."  
  
Meiling snorted, "What a dorky ransom note."  
  
Sakura shot her a look, but turned back to Noshiko, "What disc?"  
  
"Special one Mr. X created. Listen, little girl, you don't want to hang around here. So let us do our business, and you go home and play with your Barbies," Noshiko said.  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Barbies suck. You listen, mister, Yuki's like our brother to us."  
  
"I thought he was your brother," the bodyguard said.  
  
"Shut up," Meiling said to him, then turned back, "Closer than a brother. And when he's missing and worrying us, then it's our responsibility to help him. So tell us what's going on, and maybe we can help."  
  
Noshiko cleared his throat and smiled, "Feisty, aren't we? Well, well, well. Mr. X has been working with us ever since he was about 14, which would make it about fifteen years. He just appeared one day at our door. We were about to kick him out, but I thought he'd be pretty good as a trainee. He had a good kick and punch, and he didn't speak or anything. Plus, he freaked some of us out with that skin and head of his. Anyways, we discovered he had great computer and science brain. I gave him an assignment to somehow boost our sales--"  
  
"What sales?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Drugs. Cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, all that shit," Noshiko said.  
  
"Oh," Sakura said.  
  
It had finally registered in her brain that what they were dealing with was truly dangerous.  
  
"And he got started on it. He only finished it a couple of months ago. Worked practically thirteen years on it. He had developed a formula to create an artificial drug replacement for cocaine. Drugs are mainly plants, you know? And he somehow figured out how to multiply the molecules. Kind of like cloning particles," Noshiko said.  
  
Sakura and Meiling nodded.  
  
"Anyways, I gave him the disc several weeks ago, for him to keep. We don't need it anymore now that our workers have memorized the formula. But we need to keep the disc safe just in case our rival gang wants it. So they probably kidnapped him, and they're demanding the disc in exchange for him."  
  
"So you guys are going to give them the disc, right?" Sakura asked.  
  
"No. I don't know where the hell it is," Noshiko shrugged.  
  
"But…"  
  
"Doesn't matter if the Tsukiro gang gets the disc. Or if they dispose of Mr. X. We've gotten a faithful group of dealers who rely on us. They won't go to any other places. So my business is finished," Noshiko said.  
  
"But---" Sakura sputtered indignantly, "What about the life of Yuki?"  
  
Noshiko laughed, "Like I care."  
  
"But he's done so much for you guys and you just let him---die?" Meiling asked.  
  
"I've paid him. More than enough. It's his fault for letting himself get kidnapped."  
  
Sakura said angrily, "If you're not going to help us, we're going to have to take the matters into our own hands."  
  
"Sure," Noshiko waved them off.  
  
Sakura pocked the ransom note and they turned to leave, but they paused.  
  
Meiling darted forward and grabbed three handguns, "We'll be needing this."  
  
Before Noshiko could protest, Sakura quickly added, "Tell us where the Tsukiro headquarters are."  
  
Noshiko named an old warehouse in the city, and Sakura nodded, "Thanks. And goodbye."  
  
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Syaoran headed towards a 24-hour gym nearby.  
  
He was stressed, and working out would be a good way to unleash some energy bottled up in him.  
  
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When Syaoran had taken Tomoyo to his apartment, she immediately sat next to him while he was drowsily singing off-key to an oldies song.  
  
"Eriol?" Tomoyo waved her hand over his face, but his eyelids were slowly drooping.  
  
"Come on. I'm going to get you to bed," Tomoyo said.  
  
She pulled on his arm until he stood up, and together they lurched towards Eriol's bedroom.  
  
Tomoyo made sure he was safely lying on the bed, then covered his body up with a blanket.  
  
"I'm going to get you something to drink for you. And something for your hangover that's going to happen soon enough," Tomoyo said aloud.  
  
Eriol nodded, eyes closed.  
  
"At least he's quiet now," Tomoyo murmured to herself.  
  
She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.  
  
There was a half empty carton of milk, so she took that out.  
  
"Now, how did that recipe for honey milk go…" Tomoyo thought aloud, "Oh! I know!"  
  
She poured the milk into a large mug and set a plastic yogurt cover over it.  
  
She put it into the microwave and set it for thirty seconds, then let it heat.  
  
Meanwhile, she took searched for the honey and found it exactly when the microwave's timer beeped.  
  
Tomoyo took out the milk and stuck her finger in it to measure it's warmth, then picked up the bottle of honey and squirted several teaspoons into it.  
  
She stirred it with a chopstick she found in a drawer, then carried it over to Eriol's bedroom.  
  
"Eriol?" Tomoyo asked before going in.  
  
She smiled at his drowsy figure, who said, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Are you okay? I don't want to pry, but you did drink a lot," Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Do you love me?" Eriol asked instead.  
  
Tomoyo paused before responding, "Yes."  
  
Eriol nodded thoughtfully, "Good."  
  
"Here, drink this, okay?" Tomoyo handed him the mug.  
  
"Thank you," Eriol took a deep breath and sighed.  
  
Tomoyo watched him gurgle down the warm concoction and hand her the empty cup.  
  
"Sleep tight," Tomoyo said.  
  
She went back to the kitchen and did the dishes, before glancing at the clock.  
  
It was already night-time, eight o clock.  
  
Tomoyo felt her self yawning, and glanced at the two empty bedrooms.  
  
"Well, maybe just a short nap," Tomoyo smiled tiredly, and trudged over to Touya's bedroom, but first making sure that everything was off.  
  
The whole apartment was darkened and quiet, while Tomoyo climbed under the comforter and immediately fell asleep.  
  
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Meiling and Sakura were in the car.  
  
They nervously glanced at the glove compartment, where they had stored the three guns.  
  
"We're going to be dead meat if any law officials find these. They're illegal, we don't have a license and the guns are probably unregistered," Sakura said.  
  
"Well, we did practice at the shooting range a couple of times. I guess that'll improve our aims," Meiling said.  
  
"If we ever have to use these. Which I hope not," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling changed the subject, "Aren't you going to get fired for taking so much time off work?"  
  
Sakura shook her head, "No. We've already taken all the shoots for the spring wardrobe, and I did some extra modeling for some other companies, so I'm fine. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Sukutchi will understand. What about you?"  
  
"I'm okay. I've been doing a lot of extra hours," Meiling smiled cockily.  
  
"That's good. You know, things with Hanako and everything. So when do I officially get to meet him? Besides running into him at the Garden Café and all, you know," Sakura grinned.  
  
"I'll talk to him about it. We're getting pretty serious now," Meiling sighed happily.  
  
She glanced at the glove compartment and her brow furrowed, "So what do we do now?"  
  
"The only thing we have to do. Go to the Tsukiro headquarters," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
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"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sakura asked Meiling nervously, looking at the rundown warehouse in the dark.  
  
It was eight thirty, and most of the streets were filtered out of people, and there was no one hanging around the ware house.  
  
The engine of the car was running, and Sakura had parked the car in the side parking lot of the place.  
  
"I'm positive," Meiling showed Sakura the scrap of paper for confirmation.  
  
"All right. Then I guess all we have to do is go in," Sakura said.  
  
She turned off the ignition of the car and took the key out.  
  
"Get the guns," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling slowly took out two handguns and checked to see that they were loaded.  
  
"The safety lock's on, right?" Sakura asked.  
  
Meiling nodded.  
  
Sakura put the gun in her purse, squeezing her wallet and keys, while Meiling simply stuffed the handgun into her pocket.  
  
Luckily, they weren't that bulky and didn't take up much room.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
For some reason, Sakura felt like she had been here before…  
  
Ten minutes later, they were climbing the stairs of the office part of the warehouse, with hallways and staircases that seemed like a maze.  
  
They got to the top floor and saw a prominent office door.  
  
"That's probably it," Sakura whispered.  
  
They weren't sure whether to knock or not, but Meiling saw several men rounding the corner which paper cups of coffee from Starbucks, and her instincts immediately grabbed Sakura and they ducked into the nearest door, which just so happened to be a janitor's closet.  
  
Panting from the adrenaline that was racing through their bodies, Sakura closed her eyes.  
  
She whispered, "Get out of there, daddy. Hurry."  
  
Meiling looked at her quizzically.  
  
Sakura touched her lips.  
  
The words had just come out, and they seemed so familiar.  
  
Meiling raised a finger to her own lips in the quiet sign and took out her gun from the pocket.  
  
Sakura followed, by taking hers out of her purse.  
  
Together, they silently got it ready, remembering Syaoran's directions at the shooting ranges.  
  
Meiling heard the voices of the men fading away slowly, and she opened the door a crack.  
  
Sakura shook her head, and motioned to close the door.  
  
She gestured towards the wall, and leaned her ear against it.  
  
Meiling did the same, and both of them could hear nothing.  
  
"I think it's clear," Meiling whispered.  
  
Sakura agreed, and they left the closet, guns at their sides.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Sakura grasped the handle of the door and turned it, swinging the door open.  
  
They pretty much expected someone to be there, much like Noshiko, and there was.  
  
This man was lean, with sharp features on his face and tanned, leathery skin.  
  
But what stood out the most was his intense, black eyes that seemed to penetrate through Sakura and Meiling.  
  
They were practically permanently narrowed, with a matching smirk that made Sakura shrivel up in fear.  
  
This was one man who she would not, if she could choose to, not mess with.  
  
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"Who are you and what do you want?" the man asked evenly.  
  
Two bodyguards tensed up at the sight of the gun Meiling was swinging around on her finger.  
  
"Are you Tsukiro Akatchi?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
"Maybe. Maybe not," he smirked at her.  
  
"You have a 'Mr. X' in hostage, don't you, Mr. Akatchi?" Sakura asked.  
  
Tsukiro's expression didn't change as he answered, "Yes. I've made my men do that, yes."  
  
Meiling breezily said, "You sent a ransom note to the Noshiko gang, wanting the disc. We have it."  
  
Sakura looked at Meiling in surprise, that hadn't planned on that.  
  
"Oh," Tsukiro said, obviously not believing them, "I'm sure the Noshiko gang would send two little girls like you to give me the disc. Where is it?"  
  
"In a secure location," Sakura said, playing along.  
  
"And we're not so little. Oops," Meiling dropped her gun and slowly bended over, giving Tsukiro a nice view.  
  
Sakura inwardly groaned.  
  
Tsukiro chucked, enjoying the little show Meiling was giving him.  
  
On the way up, Meiling shot Sakura a look that read, 'I'm not doing this alone--do something!"  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes and remembered that she was doing it for Yuki.  
  
She plastered on her fake, adoring smile and said in a more high-pitched dumb blond's voice, "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"  
  
Tsukiro laughed, "Fine, fine. Give us the disc."  
  
"No, I think you should let us know where Mr. X is first," Sakura said.  
  
"And why should I do that?" Tsukiro asked.  
  
"Because I think I'm more trustworthy than you are," Sakura said.  
  
She put on her fake voice again, "No offense or anything."  
  
"How about I just give you the address of the people who are handling this case? I'm sure they'd love to meet young women like you. Meanwhile, Mr. X is in the basement cells, just to let you know." Tsukiro said.  
  
Meiling and Sakura exchanged glances, "Okay."  
  
Tsukiro's bodyguard handed him a piece of paper and pen, and he quickly scribbled down an address.  
  
"Good luck. And I'll be waiting for the disc," Tsukiro.  
  
He waved them off with mock blown kiss, and Sakura and Meiling left, to find who the hell had Yuki hostage.  
  
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End of chapter 13. Next chapter, "Exposed Identities"  
  
A/N: Weird, I know. Tsukiro doesn't seem as menacing as he should be, and he's stupid to just let them go. But oh well. He has to be that way for the plot to go on…besides, I'm not that good at action/scary sequences. Harhar. Next chappy will be up on the 28th….so until then, REVIEW! 


	14. Exposed Identities

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 14: Exposed Identities  
  
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"I think we should split up," Meiling announced, "I'll go down to the basements, and you can go to the person's house and try to find the disc."  
  
They were sitting inside the car, planning out what to do next.  
  
"What makes you think that the disc is at their house? We told Tsukiro we had it," Sakura said.  
  
"How do you know his name?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes, "It was written on that thing on his desk."  
  
"Oh," Meiling said.  
  
She suddenly reached into her pocket, the other one, not the one with the gun in it.  
  
She took out a needle, the ones used for shots.  
  
"What the heck is that?" Sakura backed away from the needle.  
  
She was practically scared to death about getting shots.  
  
"A tranquilizer. I use it a lot to calm down my patients. I took one on impulse because I thought it was cool. And it seems I need it now," Meiling smirked.  
  
"You're going to tranquilize Yuki? No!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
Meiling sweat dropped, "No, not him. The guards."  
  
"Is is sterile?" Sakura asked suspiciously.  
  
"Yeah. It's new," Meiling grinned.  
  
"Oh boy. Fine. I'll take the car and drive over to this place. It's downtown. And you try to rescue Yuki. But don't do anything rash," Sakura warned.  
  
"Oh I won't," Meiling promised in sugary sweet voice, "You can trust me."  
  
Sakura laughed, "That's worse than my dumb blond voice."   
  
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. As soon as you get the disc, come back here. Wait for me, and I'll probably come out with Yuki, okay?"  
  
"Got it. Take care, and be safe. This is dangerous," Sakura said to Meiling.  
  
She nodded, "I promise to be as safe as possible."  
  
Meiling got out of the car and Sakura waved goodbye to her worriedly.  
  
Sakura backed out of the parking lot and glanced at the address.   
  
It seemed really familiar to her somehow, one of the richer apartments downtown.  
  
She drove steadily there, and turned on the classical radio station to calm her nerves.   
  
Sakura spotted a parking garage and parked in there.  
  
Wow, the parking garage was exactly like the one she'd been in before…but where?  
  
Sakura turned off the engine of the car and took her belongings with her and started going in the apartment building.  
  
She dimly realized that this was very alike the parking garage Syaoran had given her the car, and it was possible that he could live in this very apartment building.  
  
But she'd never been to his apartment; only Meiling and Tomoyo had.  
  
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Meiling jogged down the metal stairs softly, one hand on the gun and the other on her needle.  
  
She paused when she came to heavy door. She was officially in the basement, and Yuki might possibly be on the other side.  
  
Meiling slowly opened the door, praying to the hinges not to squeak, and they didn't.  
  
She crept into the hallway, and she saw another hallway.  
  
"What kind of place is this?" Meiling murmured to herself. Why would they have cells in the basement of a warehouse?   
  
Meiling quickly halted when she saw a main jail cell, with a thin man sitting on the cot.  
  
Yuki!  
  
There was his bodyguard, who Meiling couldn't quite see from the shadows.  
  
But she could see the keys swinging on his finger, and Meiling quickly calculated the distance between him and her.  
  
It was only about ten feet, and if she could take him by surprise, she could quickly insert the needle in his temple and throw the keys to Yuki in one swift motion.   
  
Unless he had a gun he might shoot at her…  
  
Or she could take a different approach and pretend she was one of them.  
  
Meiling quickly debated what she should do.  
  
The first one was too risky, but the second one was stranger, and the guard might have a hard time believing her.  
  
Oh, what the hell.  
  
Meiling took a deep breath, smoothed back her hair, checked her pants, and started walking forward, with one hand still on the gun handle.  
  
"Ah hem," Meiling cleared her throat, "Mr. Akatchi wants you, sir."  
  
She smiled devilishly as she felt in the needle inside her pocket, as soon as he came into range, she'd puncture that needle into him.  
  
She walked right into the middle of the area, and she could see Yuki snap his attention onto her.  
  
The guard stood up confused, and she got a clear look at his face, "Touya?"   
  
The tall, lean man glanced at her, "What the f--"   
  
"What are you doing here?" Meiling asked.  
  
She did a double take, "With Yuki?"  
  
"Meiling?" Touya said.  
  
"Yes, it's me, what the hell are you doing?" Meiling questioned.  
  
"My job?" Touya said.  
  
They stared at each other in disbelief, and Yuki looking at both of them.  
  
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Sakura turned the doorknob of the apartment.  
  
What a surprise, it wasn't locked, and it turned easily.   
  
Sakura slowly opened the door a crack, her heart pounding. She was a now a burglar.  
  
The lights were off and there was a distant hum of the refridgerator running, but other than that, there was no one she could see.  
  
As she crept in slowly, she half expected someone to appear and call the police on her, but no one came.  
  
And she was scared to death of who might be living here.  
  
The apartment didn't look too menacing, but it was apparent that more than one man lived here.   
  
Sakura softly blew out a sigh and started looking.   
  
She was ransacking the place, much like someone did to her only a few days ago.   
  
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Sakura finished digging through the living room, kitchen, bar and bathroom.   
  
It was time to head into the bedrooms.  
  
Sakura picked the first one to the right, and as soon as she entered, she had to smile despite herself.  
  
The room was decorated in all forest green, and the scent of soap and aftershave made her sigh in pleasure.  
  
It had enough messiness to make it bachelor's room, yet it was still tidy despite the objects thrown around.  
  
She snapped out of it as soon as she saw several swords leaning on the wall and guns lying on the floor.  
  
Sakura took a deep breath and headed towards the desk. That was where she would start.  
  
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Syaoran was jogging back home, his shirt covered in sweat.  
  
He had just spent too many hours at the gym, and his muscles were aching, desperate for a hot shower.  
  
The gym was closing, so he couldn't take in the men's room, so he wanted to get home quickly.  
  
It was night, and the flashing lights of downtown Tokyo were on already as he headed towards his house.  
  
Beads of sweat trickled down his back as he steadily trotted into the apartment building, and he skipped the elevator and headed to the stairs.  
  
He arrived at his apartment and saw the door was open a crack.  
  
Immediately his instincts took over and he slowed his breathing and quietly stepped inside.  
  
He saw a gigantic and inwardly groaned.  
  
First Sakura's house, now his.  
  
He wasn't sure if it was his ears that first heard a thump in his bedroom, or his eyes which saw the trail of objects leading to his room  
  
But he walked there anyways, pausing in the kitchen to take a knife.  
  
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"What the hell do you mean, this is your job?" Meiling asked, fury in her eyes, "You mean you're the man who kidnapped Yuki all this time? And you freaking probably knew he was Yuki, but you had to lie to us?"  
  
Touya had backed up from the menacing Meiling. He knew from experience that angry women could be VERY strong.  
  
"God, Meiling, I had no choice. Tsukiro would kill me, you know what," Touya said.  
  
Meiling had pushed him to the stone cold cement wall and wall yelling to his face, "I can't believe you!"   
  
She quickly kicked him in anger and delivered a series of blowing punches to his side and slammed one in his face.  
  
Touya recoiled, and fell down to the floor, but he brought down Meiling with him.  
  
Meiling grabbed the key from his finger and tossed it into the jail, "Get out of here, Yuki. I'll take care of it."  
  
Yuki didn't have to be told twice to leave, he scrambled for the key and let himself out.  
  
Before leaving though, Meiling yelled at Yuki, "We're going to have a talk at home!"  
  
Yuki winced, he too knew how Meiling could be when angry.  
  
But he left, leaving Meiling in a fight with Touya.  
  
Touya lay on the floor, panting, "I'm not---" he wheezed, "going to hit you. I don't hit women."  
  
Meiling rolled off him and Touya propped himself up, tasting blood in his mouth, "Though I'm quite sorely tempted to."  
  
Meiling quickly pointed a foot in his face, another inch would deliver a kick to his jaw.  
  
"Explain."  
  
Touya closed his eyes in pain and opened them back up, "You know the history with Sakura. She isn't aware of everything. I think she's avoiding it, and she can't help it that she can't remember. Our father, Fujitaka, was an archaeologist. On take-your-kids-to-work day, he decided to take us with him to his job. It was close to our mother's anniversary, and my father was unusually tense. He had taken Sakura because of the endless hours of begging, but I knew he wasn't very happy about it. And I knew why when he took us to this warehouse. He told us to stay in the car, but I followed him, and Sakura followed me. We ducked into the closet and overheard my father asking Tsukiro for a package of centuries old treated marijuana plants. He obviously didn't trust my father, since as soon as my father turned to leave, he got killed. That's when I instinctively burst out of the closet, Sakura at my heels. My father was dead, and Tsukiro's men shot at Sakura and I. She lost consciousness and was taken for dead, carried out with my father. But Tsukiro saw something in me and took me in under his wing. I didn't ask for him--you need to know how much pain and suffering I went through before I finally relented. I was his slave. And that's how I got this job. I betray him, he'll kill me like he did---" Touya abruptly stopped.  
  
Meiling was too deep in thought to notice, and she nodded slowly, "I--I understand."  
  
Now she knew why Sakura had whispered that strange sentence in the closet…it had probably come as an automatic flashback to her.  
  
She took her foot away and Touya let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Is your face okay? I'm sorry. I get kind of protective of Yuki," Meiling explained, searched her pockets for some tissue.  
  
She felt the needle and burst out laughing, "You wouldn't believe it. I brought a tranquilizer here to knock you out. Sakura told me not to use it, she was right."  
  
Touya chuckled, "Damn right she is."  
  
Meiling suddenly froze.  
  
"Oh shit."  
  
Suddenly flashbacks sparked through her mind--Tomoyo telling them about Eriol's tattoo, Syaoran's hesitancy about his job, and if Syaoran and Eriol were living with Touya, that only meant that---  
  
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Sakura smiled.  
  
She held up a rather large metallic disc, encased in a plastic covering.  
  
"This is it," Sakura smiled devilishly, "Now I can just---"  
  
"Leave?" a deep voice asked behind her.  
  
Sakura closed her eyes, cursing herself for letting her guard down.  
  
The sun was completely gone and the room was dark; Sakura hadn't turned any lights on.  
  
Sakura gulped as she felt a sharp metal object scratch the back of her neck.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" the voice asked again.  
  
The voice was familiar.   
  
"I c-can't tell you that," Sakura said, breathing heavily and nervously.  
  
"Why not? What the hell are you doing with my disc?"  
  
Sakura remembered the gun in her hand and slowly moved her thumb to let out the safety lock.  
  
The man kicked the gun out of her hand and said, "Don't even think about it."  
  
He pressed the knife down deeper into her skin and Sakura whimpered.  
  
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"Oh god!" Meiling kicked Touya on the side again, "Eriol and Syaoran work for Tsukiro, don't they? Oh crap, oh crap---the disc---Sakura---"  
  
"What?" Touya asked, annoyed.  
  
He'd be getting a bruise tomorrow, no doubt.   
  
Meiling quickly stood up, "Sakura's at your house. She's looking for the disc."  
  
"Ooh," Touya realized the situation, "Run!"  
  
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Sakura was sweating from nervousness, and her mind couldn't get off the sharp object on the back of her neck.  
  
This man would slice off her head in three seconds, she knew it.  
  
As soon as she thought that, the man scooted to the side to get his sword, one hand still on the knife.  
  
Sakura breathed, "Oh what the hell," and she quickly bent down and swept leg around the man's and used all of her strength to knock his knee down.  
  
She grabbed her gun and pointed it at his forehead.  
  
The man's body was strong and muscular, but he was sweating…  
  
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Syaoran's eyebrows shot up, he had seen this move before.  
  
It was Sakura's.  
  
"Light on," Syaoran shouted and clapped his hands three times.  
  
Immediately lights illuminated the room, and Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other in shock.  
  
Two people burst into the room, and Syaoran saw that it was Touya and Meiling, panting.  
  
"Stop---" Meiling gasped for breath as she saw the various weapons scattered around the room.  
  
Sakura glanced, wide eyed, and Touya, Meiling, Syaoran and the disc in her hand.  
  
And she promptly fainted.  
  
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They were in the living room and had dragged Sakura's body to the couch, where Meiling was fanning her while Syaoran was getting her a glass of water.  
  
They were in stone cold silence, and Touya was sitting next to Sakura, stroking her hair.  
  
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked.  
  
"What happened?" she whispered, looking up at Touya's concerned face.  
  
She closed her eyes again, trying to remember what had happened.  
  
Then she sat up quickly, "Oh god, the disc! Where is it?"   
  
Syaoran wryly said, "I have it."  
  
He twirled the metallic object in his hand around and handed her a glass of water.  
  
"Well, I need it," Sakura said.   
  
She didn't seem to realize what had happened.  
  
Ooh, wait, now she did.  
  
Sakura's eyes flew wide open, "You're---you're---you were going to cut off my neck!"  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "It's about time you realized."  
  
Sakura quickly thought aloud, "If you work for Tsukiro…that means…you kidnapped…the disc…"  
  
Syaoran patiently waited for Sakura to finish thinking it out, "Oh my god!"  
  
Syaoran swallowed and Sakura exclaimed, "That means all three of you have been fooling me! How could you!?"  
  
She whirled to Touya, "How could you? You guys have lied to me all this time?"  
  
Touya raised his arms in defense, "I had too."  
  
Suddenly Tomoyo came out of Touya's room, yawning and stretching her arms.  
  
She blinked tiredly and stared at the four people in the living room.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.  
  
Four pairs of eyes looked back at her, asking the same thing.  
  
"Doesn't matter," Tomoyo hastily said, "What's going on?"  
  
Meiling gravely said, "We have something to tell you…"  
  
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Tomoyo sat down on the floor, "I knew it."  
  
Sakura and Meiling nodded, "Yep."  
  
Tomoyo sadly laughed, "It kind of hurts more that Eriol couldn't come out and tell me but I had to find out like this. And that Eriol's doing things like this."  
  
"It's my fault," Syaoran said, "I dragged him into this."  
  
"Doesn't matter. He should've came clean," Tomoyo sighed.  
  
Sakura stated, "Tomoyo, if you knew Eriol was on the 'other' side of what Yuki was doing, being in a gang and all, would you have stuck with him, no matter how much you loved him?"  
  
"Yes," Tomoyo insisted.  
  
Meiling shot her a look, and Tomoyo wilted, "No…"  
  
"Then it's not his fault. You guys, everything's out. There's no more skeletons in our closets. Unless the guys have more secrets they haven't told us."  
  
"The---bathroom!" Eriol staggered out of his room, holding a hand over his mouth.  
  
They heard him throw up into the toilet and heard it flush, and the water running as he rinsed his mouth out.  
  
Eriol peeled his shirt off and wiped his mouth when he saw there were no towels, and came back outside.  
  
Like Tomoyo, he saw faces staring back at him.  
  
He walked slowly to the couch, where everyone continued to stare at him.  
  
Sakura scooted out of the couch and he sat down.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
  
Tomoyo suddenly gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around his bare frame, sighing in happiness, "Eriol, I love you no matter what. Okay?"  
  
Eriol looked down at saw the black tattoo on his chest, "Um…"  
  
He looked at Syaoran and Touya for answers, and they nodded, "Everything's out."  
  
Eriol returned the hug to Tomoyo.  
  
She got up, "I made you a drink for when you wake up."  
  
She went to the kitchen and got out a glass from the fridge, and handed it to Eriol.  
  
He gulped it down, then made a horrible face, "Ugh! What's inside here?"  
  
"Secret," Tomoyo smirked, "If I told you, you'd throw up again."  
  
Eriol winced but drank it all down, "I'm not so sure I love you anymore."  
  
Tomoyo laughed, but turned serious, "Why'd you drink so much? You could've gotten poisoned from all that alcohol."  
  
Eriol shook his head, "I'm okay. I've been worse. How's Yuki?"  
  
Meiling scowled, "I let him out. He should be home."  
  
"All right. So I guess you girls know everything…" Eriol paused.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I have nothing left you guys don't know. Except that I broke in and stole the disc from Yuki. That's when I found out Mr. X was Yuki," Eriol explained.  
  
Syaoran and Touya nodded, "We didn't know Eriol had done that. So we kidnapped Mr. X to get the disc…but since we already had it, that probably wasn't possible."  
  
Sakura broke out in a smile, "Geez, that makes things a lot easier!"   
  
"I have nothing else to hide," Syaoran said, "Nothing."  
  
"I do," Touya said quietly.  
  
Five heads turned to look at him quickly, "What?"  
  
Touya said first, "Syaoran, Meiling, and Eriol. You have to first swear not to beat me up after I tell you this. I've already gotten punched by Meiling."  
  
Syaoran slowly said, "Okay…"  
  
Meiling and Eriol nodded, "Fine. What is it?"  
  
Touya let out a sigh, "Syaoran, how did your father die?"  
  
Syaoran gave Touya a quizzical look, "He was murdered by some gang members."  
  
"And why did you come to Tsukiro?"  
  
Syaoran answered, "My father had told me a long time ago that if anything happened to him, I had to come to Tsukiro."  
  
"That was before your father died?"  
  
"What is this, an interrogation? About a year before," Syaoran said.  
  
Touya nodded slowly, "Syaoran…your father was killed by Tsukiro."  
  
Syaoran looked at Touya, "No he wasn't."  
  
Touya sighed, "Yes he was. Your father had been working with Tsukiro, yes. But your father betrayed Tsukiro and he killed him. Right before mine was killed."  
  
Syaoran could only stare in shock.  
  
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"What the hell are you talking about?" Syaoran asked, his voice coming out slowly and deadly.  
  
Touya shrugged, "It's true, man."  
  
"You mean I've been working for the man who killed my dad--a murderer--for the past thirteen plus years?" Syaoran asked.  
  
He wasn't shouting, but his words were sharp and cold.  
  
Sakura shivered, this was scary.  
  
"Damn, it was your choice. Hey, I'm the only one who knows beside Tsukiro. If you found out, the only way you could find out was by me, so I'd be a dead man," Touya raised his hands in defense.  
  
Syaoran whispered, "Like my father. And the life that I led before I came here. If I only knew."  
  
"I'm sorry," Meiling came forward and hugged Syaoran gently, "Poor uncle."  
  
Sakura watched Syaoran stare at the floor glassy eyed.   
  
She wondered how it felt to know that you'd been working for your father's murderer and trusting him.  
  
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"I'm going to kill him," Syaoran twisted his hand and cracked his knuckles menacing, "No one gets away with killing a Li."  
  
Eriol rolled his eyes, "You weren't this venomous when you heard your father died from gang members."  
  
Syaoran flashed his eyes in Eriol's direction, "This is different. This is revenge. Touya, you know how I feel."  
  
Touya nodded slowly, "I've dreamed of seeking vengeance on my father's killer for ten years now. But it's impossible."  
  
"Maybe. But I'm going to do it. Sooner or later."   
  
Syaoran's hands relaxed for a moment and his angry feelings seemed to have diminished slightly.  
  
He turned to Meiling, Sakura and Tomoyo and said, "Shouldn't you guys be getting home?"  
  
"Yeah. We need someone to take us, though," Sakura said, glancing at the clock. It read eleven.   
  
"Wait, do you guys need an escort? It still might not be safe," Syaoran remembered.  
  
"We'll be fine," Sakura started, but Touya interrupted her, "You guys should spend the night here."  
  
"Huh?" Meiling looked at them, "Um, sure."  
  
"Great. I'll take the girls down back to their apartment so they can get some stuff, then they can come back here," Eriol volunteered.  
  
Tomoyo looked at him skeptically, "No way. You still have some alcohol in your body and I don't want to risk anything."  
  
"Fine," Eriol said rather sheepishly, "Okay."  
  
"I'll do it," Syaoran muttered, "Let's go."  
  
He strode out the door with the three women silently following him all the way to the car, where he drove them to their apartment.  
  
They climbed up and knocked on the door, and Yuki answered.  
  
He looked tired and nodded half-heartedly to Syaoran when he walked in, and soon the girls explained that they would be sleeping over at the guys' place.  
  
Yuki shot Syaoran a look.  
  
He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm not going to do anything to them. They're just going to be sleeping. It's safer there than here."  
  
This time Yuki rolled his eyes and nodded.  
  
The women finished stuffing clothes and sleeping bags into backpacks and they each kissed Yuki goodbye, "We'll be back around tomorrow, okay?"  
  
Yuki hesitated.  
  
Sakura read his eyes and said, "Do you want to come, too?"  
  
Syaoran inwardly groaned, but he forced himself to chirp, "The more the merrier!"  
  
The girls didn't hear the sarcasm and quickly thanked Syaoran, "Oh thank you. You're the absolute best!"  
  
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Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking garage and trooped into the elevator to the guys' apartment building.  
  
When they walked in, Eriol and Touya were surprised to see the pale man, but greeted him anyways.  
  
"I rented some movies," Eriol raised up several DVDs and giggled in a high falsetto voice, "We can watch these and gossip and braid hair!"  
  
Meiling rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head, "Is that what you think girls do?"  
  
"This is going to be exciting," Sakura smiled, "A sleepover!"  
  
"Uh huh, with my little sister," Touya cringed.  
  
By the time it was midnight, they had pushed the sofa back and made space for three sleeping bags, and they popped in the first DVD.  
  
"Cradle 2 the Grave," Sakura read the box.  
  
"No, it's Cradle 2 Da Grave," Touya corrected.  
  
"Yeah, Cradle 2 the Grave. I said that," Sakura repeated.  
  
"No, it's Cradle 2 DA Grave," Touya said.  
  
"I said that!" Sakura exclaimed.  
  
"Just shut up and watch the movie," Meiling said, getting out a bag of popcorn from the microwave.  
  
Meiling sat down on the floor leaning against the couch, snacking on popcorn, while Eriol and Tomoyo were on the side, propped up by the sofa, holding hands.  
  
Yuki didn't want to watch the movie and instead was starting to read a book on physiology in the kitchen table.  
  
Touya sat on the couch and Sakura was next to him, and Syaoran was on the other end.  
  
Sakura yawned as the movie started, and leaned against her brother.  
  
Touya smiled as he held her, and softly stroked Sakura's hair.  
  
"I've missed you," he whispered.  
  
Sakura replied, "I'm glad I'm back."  
  
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The end credits of the movie rolled onto the screen.  
  
Sakura yawned again and glanced at Eriol and Tomoyo, who were busy making out.   
  
They had been doing that for the latter half of the movie.  
  
Meiling had dozed off, with the empty popcorn bag and two empty soda bottles at her side.  
  
Yuki was almost finished with the book, and smiled when Sakura looked at him.  
  
Touya and Syaoran were still awake, and Sakura whispered, "I think it's time for us to go to bed."  
  
They nodded, and Sakura helped roll Meiling into the sleeping bag.  
  
Sakura tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder, and she turned around, out of breath, "What?"  
  
"Time to go to sleep."  
  
"It's okay…I think I'll be Eriol for the rest of the night," Tomoyo said mischeviously.  
  
She looked at Yuki, who gave her a disapproving look.  
  
"I mean, good night, Eriol," Tomoyo said sheepishly, "See you tomorrow."  
  
"Yuki, you can sleep in my room," Touya offered, "I'll sleep on the floor of Eriol's or Syaoran's room."  
  
"Not mine," Syaoran scowled, "Sleep in Eriol's."  
  
Yuki nodded gratefully and closed his book, setting it on the table.  
  
He went to Touya's room and shut the door.  
  
"Good night," Eriol gave one last kiss to Tomoyo and headed to his room.  
  
Touya followed him, and Syaoran nodded to Tomoyo and Sakura as a good night wave.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo snuggled into their sleeping bags as Syaoran turned off the living room lights, and fell fast asleep.  
  
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Syaoran wasn't able to sleep all night.  
  
He had tossed and turned in his bed and finally just got up and worked out his frustrations on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling and then his sword.  
  
As he slashed the deadly weapon against the air, he imagined it was Tsukiro that was in front of him, dying a slow and painful death from the wrath of Li's son.  
  
Syaoran smirked wryly, that'd be the day.  
  
A soft knock came from the door.  
  
Syaoran turned around and slowly walked to it.  
  
He finally opened it and was surprised to see Sakura standing there.  
  
"I thought I heard some noises," Sakura smiled.  
  
She moved to come in and Syaoran silently let her.   
  
He was rather annoyed.   
  
She had broken his concentration.  
  
"You're bleeding," Sakura pointed to his knuckles.  
  
Syaoran looked down but shrugged.  
  
"I'm okay."  
  
"Are you sure?" Sakura looked at his hand uncertaintly.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Sakura nodded and started browsing around his room, touching his CD's and books.  
  
Syaoran stood silently with his jaw clenched, glancing at her.  
  
Sakura finally smiled and sat down on his bed, "Aren't you going to sleep?"  
  
"I should ask you the same thing," Syaoran responded.  
  
"Are you angry?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
"At what," Syaoran asked flatly.  
  
"Life…" Sakura trailed off.  
  
Syaoran sat down next to Sakura on the bed and threw his sword onto the floor, the sharp end sticking into the carpet.  
  
"I suppose," Syaoran said slowly, "That I'm angry at life. I would rather not have my life end up like this."  
  
"But life has it's good parts too," Sakura smiled and took his hand, gently squeezing it.  
  
Syaoran was suddenly self conscious and wondered what he looked like.  
  
"Very good parts," Syaoran answered.  
  
Sakura turned to him and looked deep into Syaoran amber eyes, "You know how I told you that I only dated with people who I fell in love with?"  
  
Syaoran replied slowly, "Yes. But I wondered if you'd miss your 'one' because you never dated them to get to know them."  
  
"I don't think that's possible," Sakura responded softly, "Because he's right in front of me."  
  
Sakura gently turned her head and aimed her lips at Syaoran's, and they landed in a sweet kiss.  
  
Syaoran didn't respond and let Sakura's lips interlock with his, but he suddenly stood up.  
  
"I'm sorry. But I can't. Not with you," Syaoran said.  
  
And he fled.  
  
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End of Chapter 14. Next chapter, "Seeking Revenge".  
  
A/N: Yuck. I think i'm gonna get some flames for that last one. But if it brings any comfort, I assure you that this started out as S&S, and therefore it will end as S&S. You just gotta wait two more chapters, till the end. Hm, this is really coming up to a wrap. Two more chapters, and this is over! :( but no worries, i'll be posting up a new story that i've already started working on. the next fanfic will be up...the 7th, and the final one will be posted up....i'm not sure. my schedule's pretty hectic, since school's coming to an end. Anyways...review!!!!! 


	15. Seeking Revenge

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 15: Seeking Revenge  
  
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Sakura blinked.  
  
She paused as she recovered from the shock…and then she remembered it all over again.  
  
No, he couldn't have rejected her…  
  
Sakura sighed and buried her head in her hands.  
  
The scent of Syaoran's cologne wafted up from the bed and she angrily stood up.  
  
'Maybe he's not the right one,' Sakura decided.   
  
She would get over it.   
  
Eventually.  
  
Sakura strode out of the room and didn't bother to close the door nor turn off the lights.  
  
She went to the living room without wondering where Syaoran was, and crawled into her sleeping bag.  
  
Sakura tried to make herself fall asleep…maybe she'd forgot what happened when she woke up.  
  
  
  
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Next Morning…only a few hours later…  
  
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Sakura was rolling up her sleeping bag when Meiling and Tomoyo woke up.  
  
Tomoyo looked at her wristwatch and saw that it was only 7 am.  
  
"Ugh, why'd you wake me up so early?" Meiling groaned, "You're always the late one and I'm the early one."  
  
Sakura smiled, "I couldn't sleep."  
  
That was true.   
  
She had only fallen asleep for two hours, and when she had woke up, she hadn't forgotten what had happened.  
  
"Probably because you're sleeping in an unfamiliar place," Tomoyo said wisely, "I'm hungry."  
  
"Yeah, let's make breakfast. Is Eriol and Touya all woken up?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura automatically corrected, "Have Eriol and Touya woken up."  
  
"Nerd," Meiling stuck out her tongue and stood up, "I'm going to the bathroom."  
  
"Go ahead. I don't need it. I've packed up and ready to go," Sakura gestured to her backpack and rolled sleeping bag.  
  
"Eager to go, are we?" Tomoyo teased gently as she took out her brush from her backpack.  
  
Sakura smiled but inwardly thought, "You have no idea."  
  
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During breakfast, Sakura ate in silence while avoiding Syaoran's gaze.  
  
The whole table was pretty much quiet as they shoveled in pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon, with a cup of steaming hot cocoa.  
  
"Tsukiro's going on his rounds today. I think he wants us to come with him. And he's expecting the disc, too," Touya broke the silence.  
  
Sakura looked up, interested, "Well, you can't do that."  
  
"We have to," Syaoran said in a bored drawl, "It's our job."  
  
Sakura looked at Syaoran straight in the eye.  
  
She'd show him that she wasn't affected by his seemingly stone cold heart.  
  
"If you do that, the Tsukiro ring will grow more power, while the Noshiko one will get angry. Gang wars will erupt, and Yuki might die," Sakura gestured towards the quiet man who was on the last page of the 1200 page book of his.  
  
Yuki looked up and nodded.  
  
"If we don't do our job, all of us will die," Syaoran retorted, putting an emphasis on the 'all'.  
  
Sakura looked crestfallen. She looked like she had to make a choice between her beloved guardian and her brother, 'sister's boyfriend, and her other 'sister's cousin. Formerly her 'love'.  
  
Eriol, who had been quiet up until them, probably still recovering from his night of binge drinking, said, "Then we only have one choice."  
  
"And that is…" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Eriol looked grim, "Get rid of Tsukiro."  
  
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Touya laughed hollowly, "That'd be the day. I told you, this man is practically immortal. He has so much power, if we even tried to touch him we'd be dead."  
  
Eriol didn't look impressed, "What about all those times we've been alone with him in his office?"  
  
"Yeah," Meiling piped in, "Sakura and I were in there. By ourselves."  
  
Touya scowled at her and Sakura, "That could've been dangerous."  
  
Sakura and Meiling smiled at each other, "Not quite."  
  
Eriol changed the subject back to their objective, "One of Tsukiro's rounds is in the warehouse on the other side of the city. That's where most of the paperwork is. And this time, Tsukiro's only checking up on the quality of the building…so all of the workers leave. And Tsukiro only stays with about five of his men."  
  
Syaoran's eyes seemed to come to life, "That's our chance. We can just attack. We kill Tsukiro, that's the end."  
  
"Maybe," Sakura spoke up.  
  
Syaoran looked at her silently, and Sakura continued, "I don't think that's going to be too easy."  
  
"Wait a minute, who said you guys were going to be involved?" Touya asked.  
  
Tomoyo said, "We can't help it. We are involved no matter what we do."  
  
Eriol nodded, "That's true. If anything happens to us…"  
  
"Which won't," Syaoran said impatiently.  
  
He stood up and strode to his room.  
  
He turned around and said to them, "I'm not just going to sit around trying to plan an unpredictable attack. I'm going to do some action."  
  
"He's right," Meiling nodded.  
  
Sakura suddenly felt frightened, "We're going to go after Tsukiro?"  
  
Syaoran said to Sakura coldly, "You don't have to. We can go on with out you."  
  
Sakura inwardly winced as Syaoran's words stung her heart, but she said stubbornly, "I'm going with you."  
  
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Seven figures stood out in front of a building.   
  
"He's already in…I know it," Syaoran said.  
  
Eriol nodded, "You're right. He's been in there for ten minutes."  
  
"How do you know that?" Sakura inquired.  
  
"I'm his computer man. I have his entire schedule for the week. Pays to be one of his trusted men," Eriol said, and winked at her.  
  
"Just remember," Meiling said softly, "Tsukiro is just human."  
  
Sakura smiled, "A nose is a nose and a jaw is a jaw."  
  
Syaoran blinked as he realized that she was quoting him.  
  
He frowned and crossed his arms.  
  
"Let's go in…" Touya said.  
  
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Seven figures with hands on their guns and knives crept into a building.  
  
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"Where is he?" Meiling whispered.  
  
"Probably in the main building. Right now, we're in the back storage rooms…" Eriol explained.  
  
"Sh…" Touya paused by a box.  
  
He tore it open and tossed out baggies of white powder.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Drugs. More specifically, ground up LSD. Want some?" Touya offered to Sakura.  
  
She backed away, "Heck no. Why would you offer me some?"  
  
Touya grinned crookedly, "LSD causes flashbacks. To your past."  
  
Sakura smiled, "I get it. But no, I don't do drugs."  
  
Yuki who had been quietly walking since they entered the building, shot Touya a look.  
  
Touya chucked, "All right. I'll stop the 'peer pressure'."  
  
Sakura laughed softly, "You did your health homework."   
  
They continued walking and Tomoyo asked, "Don't the police bust these places? I mean, it's so out and open."  
  
Syaoran shook his head, "No. Drug gangs have got a tight grip on the TPD."  
  
Sakura shivered slightly.  
  
It seemed it was just them against Tsukiro. Not even the police could help them.  
  
Sakura stepped slowly to wait for Yuki who was lagging behind.  
  
She tightly held his hand and they continued walking, following Syaoran's lead.  
  
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"Shh," Syaoran held up a hand as they stopped.  
  
Sakura looked around her surrounding area.  
  
The place was similar to the Tsukiro headquarters.  
  
It was designed to have a large, open area in the center (which had heavy crates scattered around), with balconies close to the ceiling (the second floor), wrapping around the room, having doors which led to other rooms.  
  
It was chilling to think what was behind those doors.  
  
"So what are we going to do now?" Sakura asked.  
  
Syaoran looked at her and scowled, "We wait."  
  
Sakura felt a pang in her heart.  
  
Meiling sympathetically whispered, "He's PMSing."  
  
Sakura tried to smile, but she wasn't sure if Meiling was right, or if Syaoran was in a bad mood because she was here.  
  
Did he really dislike her that much?  
  
She didn't think so…but then again, she was naive.   
  
"Hide, for now," Syaoran directed.  
  
Touya scowled, since when had Syaoran become the leader?  
  
Nevertheless, the seven people scattered around the large place.  
  
Sakura stacked several crates and boxes close to the wall and sat down behind it.  
  
Meiling found her and arranged the boxes to make it into a fort, and she sat down next to Sakura.  
  
Sakura gently squeezed her hand and they sighed.  
  
"I have no clue what's going to happen next," Sakura whispered.  
  
Meiling shook her head, "Neither do I."  
  
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Syaoran gripped his hand on the suitcase.  
  
It was the suitcase that had contained the disc, and he was bringing it to Tsukiro.  
  
But, of course, the suitcase had a fake disc that was dud. In fact, Eriol had programmed it to corrupt any computer that tried to open it.  
  
Syaoran sighed slightly, he wasn't sure if this would work.  
  
But…it was better than just sitting around, right?  
  
Right?  
  
Syaoran positioned himself behind some boxes and peered out.  
  
He knew that Touya and Eriol were in that janitorial closet, while Yuki and Tomoyo had hid in the darkness of that corner.  
  
He saw where some boxes had moved and knew that Meiling and Sakura were in there.  
  
Sakura…  
  
Syaoran licked his dry lips as he wondered why he was the only one who was hiding alone while the others were paired up.  
  
Sakura…  
  
All right, his brain wouldn't stop bothering him until he forced himself to deal with Sakura.  
  
He wasn't too surprised that morning when she had kissed him…he had a feeling she had a crush on him…but didn't he, too?  
  
Those times when she kissed him before, when he caught her staring at him, or those times when he had a pounding heart.  
  
And even more, those times when she would catch his eye and flash a smile in his direction.  
  
But he couldn't like her, much less love her.  
  
He had too many other things to take care of…like this 'mission', for example.  
  
Syaoran's muscles tightened when he sensed something.  
  
He watched as a door on the second floor opened and Tsukiro strode out with five cronies who were lined up in a triangle behind him.  
  
Tsukiro said aloud, "This place is pretty good. But remind me to dispatch twenty more workers here. The works getting sloppy, and look at all those fucking boxes scattered around there. Get rid of them as soon as possible."  
  
Syaoran silently flicked off the trigger lock and made sure his gun was loaded and ready to shoot.  
  
"All right, let's leave," Tsukiro said.  
  
"Yes, sir," the men bowed and Tsukiro led the way around the hallway and down the steps to the middle of the warehouse.  
  
BANG!  
  
Syaoran blinked as he saw one of Tsukiro's men down on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.  
  
Syaoran instinctively wondered how Sakura was taking it.  
  
Immediately, the four other people and Tsukiro took out their own guns, the good rifles and one tiny machine gun that could probably puncture Sakura in a second.  
  
"Shit, I missed!" Touya's voice filled the air.  
  
Syaoran cursed as Tsukiro recognized the voice and pointed to the general direction it came from, "Kill him."  
  
Touya and Eriol came out of the closet stupidly and raised their hands in the air, "Wait! We have the disc."  
  
Tsukiro cocked his head to the side, "Oh, do you?"  
  
"Yeah, it's right here!" Eriol drew his gun and shot it square in Tsukiro's chest.  
  
The bullet which had been speeding at 120 miles per hour and could've entered and left Tsukiro's body in two point three seconds barely plunked off.  
  
"What is this, Superman?" Meiling whispered to Sakura. They were still in their hiding places.  
  
Tsukiro smirked and asked, "You really think I wouldn't go around wearing a bullet proof vest? There are some things, Eriol, that even you don't know."  
  
Touya quickly ducked as three bullets barely grazed his ear, foot and arm.  
  
"Quick one, eh?" Tsukiro asked. He lifted his gun to shoot at Touya, but Syaoran broke loose and shouted, "Hold on."  
  
"You're in this little revolt, too? I'm guessing someone couldn't keep their mouth shut about some skeletons in this gang's closet," Tsukiro smirked.  
  
Syaoran flashed back an evil grin identical to the one Tsukiro wore, and he said, "You killed my father. And I kill you. The cycle is complete."  
  
"Not so fast," Tsukiro drawled, "You would have to get past me first. And believe me, that's going to be hella hard."  
  
"Not with seven people against five. I believe it's possible," Syaoran said.  
  
Tsukiro raised his eyebrows, "Are you suggesting something?"  
  
"Yes. How about a an all out rumble? No guns, just hand to hand combat," Syaoran said slowly.  
  
Sakura winced, she wasn't sure she could take this.  
  
"Ok. No guns or knives," Tsukiro replied.   
  
He added a question, "And the stakes?"  
  
Syaoran answered grimly, "Winner is the last one standing."  
  
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Syaoran threw his gun to the side and Tsukiro did the same.  
  
Syaoran took out his knife and tossed it, while Tsukiro's bodyguards also threw their weapons to the side.  
  
"Okay. Touya, Eriol," Syaoran said.  
  
They both unarmed themselves, but Touya was trying to signal Syaoran.  
  
He mouthed the words, "What about the girls?"  
  
Syaoran replied, "They'll do fine."  
  
"All right," Syaoran turned to Tsukiro, "Let's get this ready with. I hope you've said your prayers, because you're either going to heaven or hell today."  
  
Tsukiro smirked back, "Never a religious one. Not afraid of death."  
  
Syaoran raised his eyebrows, "So you've come to terms with the fact that you will die today."  
  
Tsukiro shook his head, "I was talking about you."  
  
"All right, enough chit chat!" Meiling strode out of the small place she had been hiding in and Sakura reluctantly followed.   
  
Tomoyo came out of her place with Yuki.  
  
Tsukuro spat at the sight of Sakura and Meiling, "You bitches. I should've known you were involved all along."  
  
"Watch your tongue," Sakura responded, "You're in the presence of ladies."  
  
Tsukiro rolled his eyes, "Let's get this started. I'm eager to finished what I started thirteen years ago."  
  
"Pst! Pair up with a guy and take them down," Meiling whispered to Sakura, "And don't be afraid to kill any of them."  
  
Sakura gulped. She had never wanted to be murderer.  
  
And the fighting began.  
  
It started out slowly, with each person paired up against the enemy and circling each other.  
  
Syaoran had taken the honor or dueling Tsukiro, and they were killing each other with looks and they circled each other with their hands in a stance, measuring the other up.  
  
Meiling was the one who started it first. She wasn't patient and merely slammed a kick into the man she was fighting against.  
  
She quickly ducked a punch, then dropped to the ground in defense of the low kick he had aimed at her.  
  
Sakura was having trouble trying to land a punch, but she knew how to fire herself up.  
  
"Imagine he's Syaoran," Sakura told herself.   
  
She narrowed her eyes and started blowing punches to the man's face, as she whispered angrily, "How could you? You pretty much led me on and I really thought you loved me but I was fooled. All men are the same."  
  
The man who was getting abused was confused by her words.   
  
He was rather stupid, and being entranced by Sakura's beauty and sex appeal, he soon let down his guard and Sakura finished the punches by spinning a direct kick to the man's head.  
  
He dropped down to the ground and another kick made him unconscious.   
  
Sakura smiled, "Safe."  
  
Sakura glanced around and saw that no one needed her help, everyone was doing fine.  
  
And with the bodies groaning on the floor, it seemed that her side was winning.  
  
Until Tsukiro glanced around while blocking a kick to the stomach and was surprised by the fact that the only man standing on his side was being beaten to death by Tomoyo.  
  
Tsukiro punched Syaoran and pulled out a gun that had been concealed in his shirt.  
  
He smirked but Syaoran threw the gun out of his hand and insulted, "Fucker. Never can win without cheating, can you?"  
  
Tsukiro smirked as he quickly got down to the gun.  
  
He fired randomly just as the doors came open and a stream of about twenty more people on Tsukiro's side (back up) came in.  
  
Luckily, they weren't armed (and soon all the other people on the 'good' began to beat them up), but we mustn't forget about the bullet that Tsukiro just sent off.  
  
It flew at the speed of sound to the direction where Sakura and Yuki were…and it passed Sakura by inches while it penetrated Yuki directly in the chest.  
  
Sakura glanced back and screamed as she saw her beloved Yuki fall down to the ground with blood spurting out of his chest.  
  
No one had time to hear her scream through the loud sounds of men fighting against each other, but Sakura immediately collapsed onto the ground next to Yuki.  
  
She gently rubbed his bald head and whispered, "Yuki are you okay? Answer me!"  
  
Yuki merely smiled, a sad smile.  
  
And he opened his lips and began to speak.  
  
Sakura would always remember this moment when she heard Yuki's deep voice, cracking slightly from never using it.  
  
Yuki slowly let the words out of his mouth, as it had been his first time speaking in over 13 years.  
  
"Sakura…"  
  
"Yes?" Sakura was crying and she held Yuki's head in her lap.  
  
"I'm going to be okay. I'm going to a better place. But before I go, promise me you'll be okay," Yuki said.  
  
Sakura said tearfully, the words choking in her throat as the drops of water burned in her eyes, "I promise. Yuki, but don't go…"  
  
Yuki smiled the sad and wistful smile again, "I have to. It's destiny. I love you, Sakura. And tell that to Tomoyo and Meiling…watch out for Meiling for me."  
  
Sakura nodded, "Okay…but Yuki, why? Why didn't you ever talk? Think of how much you couldn't said, why didn't you?"  
  
But before Yuki could answer, his eyes slowly closed and his hand that had been holding Sakura's slipped out of her grasp.  
  
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A young man in his late twenties got out of a bus while he looked on his map.  
  
As he checked the time on his wristwatch, squinting through his glasses, the wind ruffled through his white blond hair.  
  
The man looked down the street and headed towards the police station.   
  
What better way to find a missing person than to start there?  
  
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Sakura didn't hear Tsukiro's men race for the guns laying on the ground and start shooting, or Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol, Syaoran and Touya take out their knives and extra guns that they, too, had concealed.  
  
She didn't hear them shoot over fifteen of the men menacingly, but she did hear something.  
  
"Sakura, get out of the way!"   
  
It seemed like slow motion as she turned her head and saw Syaoran diving for her as a spray of bullets came her way.  
  
Luckily, she was out of the way when Syaoran had pushed her out of the fire's line, but when her head hit the pavement, she could only see Syaoran's face yelling, "SAKURA!" before all went dark.  
  
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Sakura was in a pitch black area.  
  
"Sakura?"   
  
A sweet, melodious voice sang out.  
  
She whirled around, but in the black nothingness, she couldn't see.  
  
"Who is this? Where am I?"  
  
"Perhaps you'd feel less hostile if…"  
  
Before Sakura could blink, she was in a field of flowers of yellow and orange, with hummingbirds buzzing around her ears ticklishly.  
  
Sakura giggled from the feeling, and the voice laughed along, "I was right."  
  
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Right behind you, honey," a different voice said.   
  
It was deeper and held a warm comforting drift to it.   
  
Sakura slowly turned around.   
  
There a man with graying hair, glasses and a smile was holding hands with a younger woman who had long, brown wavy hair that seemed to accent the sparkle in her eyes.  
  
She was holding a wicker basket with plucked cherry blossoms, and she too, smiled at Sakura.  
  
"Mom?" Sakura instantly recognized the woman.  
  
The woman laughed happily and took a handful of the cherry blossoms and threw them at Sakura, showering her in a sprinkle of blossoms.  
  
And judging from the photos Sakura had 'borrowed', she cought recognize the man, "Dad?"  
  
"It's nice to see you too," Fujitaka chuckled.  
  
"Wait, what are you doing here? You two are dead, aren't you?" Sakura asked, confused.  
  
Nadeshiko laughed, "We can't deny that. But Sakura…the time has come."  
  
"What time?" Sakura hated feeling confused.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough. Sweetie, do you remember when we went fishing that year when you were two? You fell into the water and was scared you couldn't come up, but Touya had put a fishing hook on your shirt tag. He was your savior that day. You kept on following him around, eyes sparkling at your hero, even after he yelled at you for being annoying," Fujitaka recalled.  
  
Sakura laughed, "I don't remember that day, but I remember Daddy telling me that story when I was six."  
  
She realized what she had just said and froze.  
  
Nadeshiko smiled gently, "I told you it was time."  
  
"You mean…" Sakura said slowly, "I've got my memory back?"  
  
Fujitaka nodded, "I won't go into the complicated science things, but when you fell, you hit your head pretty hard. Judging from the fact that Yuki just died, everything had a psychological and physical effect on your brain, which caused that place in your brain that held your memories to come back."  
  
"Yuki's dead," Sakura remembered.  
  
She sat down slowly on the bed of flowers, "He's gone."  
  
Nadeshiko shrugged, "I'm not sure I felt any spirit pass into this world the second before you came in. But if it's any consolation, he's probably in a wonderful place right now."  
  
"Wait a second, I'm in heaven?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Rather, in your subconscious. Your father and I are always in your heart, sweetie. This is just a physical place in another dimension that you can see us. You tapped into it when you fell, honey. I won't get into the physics. I know you failed that course," Nadeshiko winked.  
  
Sakura groaned, "Don't remind me."  
  
Fujitaka sighed, "It's time for you to go now. You probably won't remember this conversation, and who knows when you'll regain consciousness, but you'll get your memory back. And know that we love you and are always with you, Sakura."  
  
"I will," Sakura nodded.  
  
Once more, in the blink of an eye, Sakura was transported back into the nothingness before it all disappeared.  
  
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Meiling stumbled to the ground as her opponent pushed her menacingly.  
  
The knife dropped out of her hand and he picked it up reflexively and tried to stab her on her side.  
  
Meiling barely moved out of the way and used her legs to push him away.  
  
His hands still used the sharp object to slash her leg, causing blood to trickle out.  
  
"You bastard," Meiling growled.  
  
She seemed to get rejuvenated but when she got up, she collided with Touya who was fending off three men with a crate and gun.   
  
The crash sent her thrashing back to the ground, and as she did so her head whipped to the side and she caught a glimpse of a blood covered and very still Yuki, along with a knocked out Sakura.  
  
"Shit," Meiling muttered.  
  
She turned back to the man she had been fighting but found him dead with a bullet hole in his head.  
  
"He was about to get you!"  
  
Meiling looked across the body and saw Tomoyo with a shaking hand and a smoking gun in it.  
  
"You go girl!" Meiling cheered for a second.  
  
Meiling paused for a second as she surveyed the battle scene.  
  
Tomoyo had just shot another man in the stomach who had tried to advance on her, while Eriol was combating hand to hand with two men.  
  
Touya was still fighting the three men, and Meiling decided to help.  
  
She picked up a bloody knife that had been lying around, wiped it off on her shirt and closed one eye as she took aim.  
  
With her excellent skills, she threw the knife with as much force as she could, and it landed on the man's leg, and went straight through.  
  
"Ouch," Meiling wondered how hard exactly she had thrown the knife.  
  
Meiling turned to Tsukiro and Syaoran. They were still going strong and fighting.  
  
Luckily, Tsukiro was disarmed and so was Syaoran, making it a test of strength.  
  
Meiling looked to Eriol who was lying on the floor with a mangled leg.   
  
His eyes were closed, but Meiling decided that he was alive.  
  
As for the rest of them, they were all alive while most of the enemies were either dead or too busted up to fight.  
  
This was too easy. But wait..  
  
Meiling narrowed her eyes and she whipped her head to turn at Yuki and Sakura.  
  
Stalking over to him, she pushed aside Sakura who was clearly breathing, and gently watched Yuki's chest to see if it were rising and falling (just as she had learned in First Aid and in the hospital).  
  
It wasn't.  
  
Meiling took Yuki's thin wrist and to her shock, it was ice cold and there was no pulse.  
  
She promptly fainted, crumbling onto the floor next to Sakura.  
  
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Tomoyo collapsed as she realized she realized that she has just killed someone.  
  
She was a murderer.  
  
Tomoyo's breathing quickened as she panicked, but when she turned and saw Eriol lying on the floor moaning in pain.  
  
"Eriol, baby, are you all right?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.  
  
Eriol grunted and he opened one eye to look at Tomoyo who was lovingly caressing his hand.  
  
"I'm okay. That fucker threw me to the ground and I think it shattered my leg. Thank goodness I shot him dead."  
  
Tomoyo winced as she saw his leg with the bone probably broken in about four places.  
  
"Does it hurt?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Eriol grimaced, "I'll live through it. But Tomoyo…"  
  
"Yes?" Tomoyo answered, concerned.   
  
He struggled as he took something out of his pocket, and at the sight of it, Tomoyo gasped.  
  
Eriol managed a weak smile as he opened the velvet, silk lined box with the perfect white gold band and square cut diamond, "I took this as a sign of our love. Before we went in here, I thought that if I survived it, we were meant to be together. And I'm still here. So…will you marry me?"  
  
Tomoyo bit her lip as she answered tearfully, "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"  
  
Eriol grinned more broadly despite his pain and gently took off Tomoyo's silver promise ring and slipped the prettier one onto her slender finger.  
  
"I love you," Eriol said.  
  
"Me too," Tomoyo answered happily.  
  
"But--watch out!" Eriol caught sight of a fallen man getting up and aiming his pistol at the happy couple.  
  
Tomoyo closed her eyes as they scooted to the side and heard the bang.  
  
Tomoyo winced when she looked at her leg, "Oh shit."  
  
It was bleeding, staining her pants.  
  
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Syaoran ducked a blow, spun a kick to Tsukiro and moved out of Tsukiro's knife's path. All in a split second.  
  
"I hate your ass right now," Syaoran grunted as he flipped out of the way and tumbled to safety.  
  
"Same to you," Tsukiro replied.  
  
"Why did you kill my father?" Syaoran suddenly asked.  
  
They both paused in a second of fighting before they resumed combating.  
  
"He betrayed me. Just like you. Like father, like son…" Tsukiro snarled as he lunged for Syaoran.  
  
They both fell on the floor, but Syaoran rolled over so that he was on top of Tsukiro.  
  
He aimed his gun at Tsukiro's temple and practically shouted, "But that doesn't give you a reason to kill me."  
  
"What the hell? Of course it does. I killed your father because he betrayed me, you're trying to kill me by betraying me. And I'm going to kill you for that. It's a circle which will be completed once I kill you," Tsukiro grunted.  
  
Syaoran laughed, "With the press of this trigger, you'll be having to pick up bits of your skull that's been blown to pieces in order to kill me."  
  
Tsukiro grimaced, "True."  
  
Syaoran's eyebrows raised, "What?"  
  
"I know. Syaoran…god, this is hard. But I've been a father to you for thirteen years, can't you do the same by sparing me this once? This is hard, begging on my knees to you to spare me."  
  
As Tsukiro was talking, his hand was slowly inching towards a sharp twelve inch knife that was lying only a couple feet from him.  
  
Syaoran softened, "I can't say you did a horrible job. It was honor to my father that made me come all the way here, loyalty to leave everything behind and faith in him to stay."  
  
Tsukiro nodded as his hands grasped on the metal handle of the blade, "Your father was a good man. We started out as mutual friends, but I soon got him into that world you were in."  
  
His hand inched back to his side and Tsukiro ever so slowly lifted the knife, it's sharp side glistening.  
  
"He wanted to leave pretty soon , as soon as he realized that this wasn't the life for him. He was lying to everyone, even you."  
  
Syaoran shrugged, "I was too little to realize."  
  
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Touya moaned as he sat up.  
  
He rubbed his shoulder and winced at the pain.   
  
He looked across the room as saw Syaoran lying on top of Tsukiro with a gun pointing to his temple.  
  
But Tsukiro had a knife ready to stab the unsuspecting Syaoran while they were deep in conversation.  
  
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"But as good friends as we were, my job comes first. I had to kill him. He ratted me out to someone, but that man was taken care of. And now…I have to kill you."  
  
"Fuck off, Syaoran!"   
  
Syaoran looked across and saw Touya wildly waving his arm that wasn't hurt at him.   
  
Syaoran always had a knack for getting out of trouble at the last second.  
  
He slid down Tsukiro's body and tumbled out of the way, just as Tsukiro brought the knife slamming down.  
  
Syaoran didn't wince as Tsukiro's eyes widened in shock and pain when he realized that he had just killed himself.  
  
"Thanks, buddy. Could've done without the bad word," Syaoran grinned at Touya.  
  
Touya shrugged good naturedly, "I had to. You wouldn't have gotten out of the way in time."  
  
"We killed him together. My father's death is avenged," Syaoran proclaimed like the ending of a medieval knight's story.  
  
Touya laughed, "Suuure. But I feel better."  
  
He glanced around and saw the bloodshed.  
  
"We better get to the hospital."  
  
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End of chapter 15. Next chapter, "Ending and Epilogue."  
  
A/N: Um…you're probably laughing like crazy…I'm not too good with these action stuff, so I'd better stick to romance from now on. Oh well, this is the last 'real' chapter…the last one, LAST one, will be up in about a week or so! So it's almost time for this to all wrap up…so review! And read my newest story, "Everlasting Love, Don't Leave Me". ^_^ 


	16. Ending and Epilogue

Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?  
  
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004  
  
Chapter 16: Ending and Epilogue  
  
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"What's the update?" Syaoran asked Touya, who was returning with a small paper cup of steaming coffee from a machine.  
  
Touya suppressed a yawn as he answered, "Everyone's in stable condition. Sakura's still unconcscious, but the doctor says that'll only last for a little while more. Eriol and Tomoyo both have bandages on their legs, Eriol's leg is okay and Tomoyo's leg is bullet free. And Yuki…well, he's dead."  
  
Syaoran grimaced, "I feel bad for the girls."  
  
Touya nodded, "Having someone that's been with them for thirteen years die…that'd be horrible. Especially someone who's taken care of them all that time."  
  
"I know…I'll arrange funeral things as soon as I ask Meiling how Yuki might want them. How's Meiling, by the way?"  
  
"Alive and kicking. Literally. She pushed back the doctor when he tried to inject her with some sleep medicine. But her little boyfriend's with her now, so she should be quiet for a while," Touya answered.  
  
"Typical. What time is it?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Touya yawned this time as he answered, "Two thirty."  
  
"Okay…I'm going to get some food. You can take a nap in the waiting room until I get back," Syaoran offered.  
  
"Thanks," Touya yawned again and immediately stumbled towards a plastic chair to catch some zzz's.  
  
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Syaoran headed out of the hospital towards a convenience store he knew was open.  
  
As he walked in the nearly empty sidewalks that only had drunk, vomiting people in the street, Syaoran paced towards the corner when he bumped into someone.  
  
"Sorry," Syaoran mumbled at the man.  
  
He barely caught a glimpse of the person's face before it was gone, the man having walked away towards the hospital.  
  
But from what Syaoran could see, the face was similar to Yuki's, but this man looked a lot sweeter with his glasses and thin blondish hair.  
  
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Yukito smiled gently as he walked through the doors of the Tokyo Medical Center.  
  
He wasn't at all tired in this late hour, but more energized by the fact that he was inches away from finding his best friend.  
  
Literally.  
  
Yukito stopped walking when he practically crashed into a chair in the waiting room.  
  
A tall, lanky man had managed to fold his legs and arms into the chair.  
  
His black hair was nearly covering his eyes as he snored softly.  
  
Here was Touya.  
  
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Yukito sat down in the empty chair next to Touya and wondered how to approach the man.  
  
Until this moment, everything had been simple.  
  
Yukito had heard the news of Touya's disappearance and Fujitaka's death many years ago, but he swore never to believe it until he saw Touya's body for sure.  
  
But in a senior class trip to the Tokyo Museum of Anthropology, he had seen a teen who looked exactly like Touya, roughly driving a silver Mercedes through the streets just as Touya had told Yukito he would do when he got a car.  
  
That had inspired Yukito's search for his best friend, and during college and grad school, he had consistently tried to find leads of a Touya Kinomoto anywhere in the city.  
  
Now, a fresh doctor out of medical school, he had taken time off to complete his search.  
  
And now, he was here, centimeters away from a living, breathing Touya, but Yukito was at a loss of what he should do.  
  
Touya had probably forgotten all about him, after all, it didn't look like he remembered his best friend.  
  
And Sakura. Would she remember him?   
  
Yukito smiled slightly as he remembered all the times Sakura had come running to him from the tortures of Touya, and Yukito had to call of the teasing, making him Sakura's guardian angel.  
  
"Is Sakura Kinomoto's guardian out here?" a nurse called.  
  
Touya's eyes snapped open and he got up, and as he turned to throw his coffee cup away, he saw the penetrating eyes of someone.  
  
Touya's eyes widened in shock as he recognized Yukito. He was the same as ever.  
  
"Hello, Touya," Yukito said calmly.  
  
Distantly, Touya could hear the nurse still calling for him, but he couldn't do anything but stare.  
  
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Sakura yawned.  
  
She had woken up ten minutes ago and no one was even here.  
  
Oh well.  
  
Sakura frowned as she tried to remember the dream she had.  
  
The only thing she could recall was that she was in a field of flowers, and was showered with sakura blossoms for a second when someone had thrown them at her.  
  
There were two people…faces whom Sakura couldn't see, they were too fuzzy in her mind.  
  
But one sentence she could still hear clearly. "It's time."  
  
Sakura suddenly remembered what had just happened that night.  
  
The guns…Tsukiro…everyone…all the bloodshed.  
  
And Yuki was gone.  
  
Sakura bit her lip as tears sprang to her eyes.  
  
She tried to blink them away, but when she saw a mental image of Yuki, smiling at her as he spoke to her, she couldn't help but let the sobs come out.  
  
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"You know," Eriol nuzzled Tomoyo's neck and planted a trail of kisses up to her mouth. In between kisses, he spoke, "Now that we're getting married and all…don't you think it's time that we…"  
  
"We…?"  
  
Eriol winked at Tomoyo, "Sealed the deal?"  
  
Tomoyo backed away from Eriol and smacked him on the shoulder, "Pervert. We're going to wait…at least, until I say so."  
  
Eriol rolled his eyes comically, and said, "Whatever, milady."  
  
"That's right," Tomoyo cooed at her fiancé.  
  
They shared a kiss on their wheelchairs before they separated and used their hands to roll the wheels.  
  
"Where to, my love?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Let's see Meiling first. Then Sakura. Then Yuki, of course. Actually, why don't we visit Yuki first? We have to tell him I'm getting married," Tomoyo said.  
  
Eriol paled slightly.  
  
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Eriol swallowed, "You didn't know?"  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"Honey I'm sorry…Yuki got shot by the first bullet Tsukiro sent out."  
  
Tomoyo looked nervous, "Is he okay?"  
  
Eriol bowed his head, "I'm sorry. He's in a better place…we all know that."  
  
Tomoyo was shocked, "He's…gone?"  
  
Eriol nodded, "Gone."  
  
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The three girls, plus Eriol and Hanako, were together in Sakura's room.  
  
The three women were crying as Hanako and Eriol uncomfortably tried to console them.  
  
Sakura sniffed as she tried to talk, "He spoke to me."  
  
Tomoyo looked up, eyes and nose red, "He did?"  
  
"He said that he loved all of us, and that he'd always be with us forever," Sakura said.  
  
Meiling sighed, "I can't believe he's gone. I've always thought he'd be around forever. But he's not."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Tomoyo said.  
  
She leaned against the side of Sakura's bed and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. The doctor said I had an open fracture on my arm. Which means the bone poked through my skin," Sakura made a face, "And he said it'd leave a scar."  
  
"Where?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura pointed to her arm.  
  
"That's the exact same spot as your other scar, but on the other arm. Odd," Meiling commented.  
  
Sakura smiled, "Yeah…it's weird I got one the first time Yuki came and when Yuki left."  
  
"And when you lost your memory," Tomoyo added.  
  
They turned to the door when they heard it opening, and they saw Touya walking in with an unfamiliar man.  
  
"Kaijuu," he greeted Sakura.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes, "It's about time. And stop calling me that."  
  
"Shut up, monster," Touya snorted.  
  
Sakura grinned fiercely, "You say that again and I'll stomp on your foot like I used to, broken arm or not."  
  
The man behind Touya laughed, "Typical. Always like that, no matter what."  
  
Sakura's attention turned to him and her eyes opened in surprise, "Yukito?"  
  
"Wait a second, you remember him?" Touya demanded.  
  
"Yes," Sakura said.  
  
Touya raised his eyebrows, "What the h--"  
  
"Hello!" the doctor walked in, "A little crowded, are we?"  
  
"It's fine, doctor," Sakura said.  
  
"I want to talk to you about something," Touya scowled fiercely, "My sister has her memory back."  
  
"Pardon?" the doctor asked.  
  
"She had her memory lost in an accident thirteen years ago. And now it's back," Touya explained.  
  
"Ah," the doctor nodded, "I got her files and apparently, it's a miracle. She was knocked unconscious when she broke her arm, and I believe that's what got it back."  
  
"I see," Touya nodded at the rather ambiguous explanation.  
  
"I'll leave you ten more minutes, but you really need to go to your separate rooms," the doctor said.  
  
"Yes, sir," Hanako nodded.  
  
Touya sat down on the bed next to Sakura and said, "So…"  
  
"Do you remember the time we went fishing?" Sakura asked.  
  
Touya cracked a smile, "And you fell into the water."  
  
Sakura grinned, "I love you."  
  
She gave her brother a hug and Tomoyo said, "Aww…I wish I had a camera."  
  
"How are you, Yukito?" Sakura asked.  
  
Tomoyo and Meiling focused on the newcomer, and they said, "You look a lot like…"  
  
"Yuki. Huh," Sakura nodded, thinking.  
  
"That's my nickname," Yukito offered.  
  
"Yeah…that's odd…"  
  
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The four men had left to join Syaoran in the waiting room to eat, and the three women were left in Sakura's room.  
  
They were silent for a moment.  
  
"I'm getting married," Tomoyo finally broke the silence and showed off the diamond on her hand.  
  
"Oh my gosh, that's great!" Meiling squealed and threw her arms around Tomoyo, "You're the first one out of all of us."  
  
Sakura winked at Meiling, "Given that I'm the only one without a boyfriend, I'll have plenty of experience with weddings by the time my turn comes."  
  
Tomoyo laughed, "Exactly."  
  
Sakura quieted down, "I wonder what Yuki would think."  
  
"He won't be able to come to any of our weddings…" Meiling turned misty eyed.  
  
The room was again silence as they mourned Yuki, until Sakura said softly, "I don't think we should be doing this."  
  
Meiling turned to Sakura, "What do you mean?"  
  
Sakura slowly answered, "Would Yuki want us to be sitting here, crying over him? All he wants for us is to be happy, and the proper way to mourn him is to go out for drinks celebrating Tomoyo's engagement."  
  
Tomoyo smiled, "Yeah. But it wouldn't feel right…"  
  
Meiling agreed, "It wouldn't. But to make Yuki happy, we should celebrate. Not death, but life. To Tomoyo's new one with Eriol, to Sakura's memory coming back, and to the return of Touya's friend, Yukito."  
  
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Three weeks later…  
  
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Sakura was at work, massaging her bare feet after spending a painful six hours on six inch heels.   
  
"You okay, sweetie? I'll call one of the workers at the spa they have downtown to come over," Cheryl, the receptionist offered.  
  
"I'm fine," Sakura smiled.  
  
"You did a good job today, Sakura!" a passing photographer nodded at Sakura.  
  
"Thanks. You did too. Hope those shots will come out great!" Sakura called back.  
  
"I'm sure they will," he responded.  
  
Sakura asked Cheryl, "Is Mr. Sukutchi here?"  
  
"Of course, in his office. Do you need to talk to him?"  
  
"Yeah. He's not busy, is he?"  
  
"No, he always has time for you," Cheryl smiled, "Do you want me to call ahead and tell him you're going?"  
  
"Sure. Tell him I'll be there in ten," Sakura said.  
  
Sakura slipped on a pair of socks and comfortable sneakers and got up, hobbling towards the bathroom on her sore feet.  
  
Sakura quickly washed her hands and checked her makeup, ignoring the constant sounds of other women barfing in the stalls.  
  
As Sakura dried her hands, a much thinner woman came out of the bathroom stall and looked Sakura up and down disdainfully.  
  
"Bulimic bitches," Sakura muttered as she left the ladies' room. It was the only thing Sakura hated about the job, but she'd soon be leaving.  
  
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"Come in!"   
  
"Hey, Mr. Sukutchi," Sakura came into the spacious office.  
  
"Oh, Sakura. What's wrong?" Sakura's favorite man asked.  
  
"I'm fine. I just have something to ask you…" Sakura said.  
  
"Anything, my love. Extra cash? A vacation?"  
  
Sakura laughed, "I'm fine with that stuff. I just want a job transfer."  
  
Sukutchi's eyebrows shot up, "What?"  
  
"I'm not quitting or anything, I'm just wondering if there are any job opportunities in other places. Like, America, or Britain, maybe China or Taiwan."  
  
"Why? Sakura, are you unhappy here?" Sukutchi asked, hurt.  
  
"Of course not!" Sakura quickly said, "I love it here. But I need a change. So much has been happening in my life, I need a break for it. Do you think I could model at a different place for a couple of …I don't know, years?"  
  
Sukutchi narrowed his eyes, "You're running away, aren't you."  
  
Sakura asked, "What? No. What do I have to run away from?"  
  
"I don't know…I just get a feeling. Your mother once asked me to transfer her to Paris for a year. I didn't know why, but it was too big of a risk so I denied it. She was angry at me for awhile, but I think I made a good choice. It turned out her family was about to disown her, her best friend had turned her back on her, yet she had a wonderful boyfriend. She wanted to get away from it, but I made her face it. Wonder why she was going to leave that boy of hers."  
  
"My father. Sukutchi, there was a huge age difference," Sakura explained.  
  
"Was there? Oh, I wouldn't know. Show biz is all about getting married then remarried, as you age, the women get younger," Sukutchi winked at Sakura.  
  
She laughed, but again asked, "Can you get me a job transfer?"  
  
This time, Sakura added her signature puppy dog eyes to get what she wanted.  
  
Sukutchi sighed as he looked at Sakura.  
  
"I might regret this, but those sad eyes are killing me. Fine…pick a place."  
  
Sakura bit her lip, "Um…France?"  
  
Sukutchi smiled widely, "Paris? Like mother, like daughter. Granted. I'll get you your flight info and job info by next week."  
  
"Thank you so much!" Sakura squealed excitedly, "Thank you!"  
  
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Sakura took a cab back to her apartment.  
  
After the huge mess, they had decided to live in the apartment until Tomoyo got married, and until then, Yukito was sleeping on the couch.  
  
Tomoyo and Meiling had embraced Yukito the same as an older brother, and he almost replaced Yuki.  
  
Almost.  
  
Sakura got out, but instead of going into the building, she walked a block to the cemetery park.  
  
It was peaceful, a change from the busy streets of Tokyo.  
  
And there was buried Yuki.  
  
They had a simple funeral, and the three girls each said goodbye to Yuki.  
  
"Hey, Yuki," Sakura whispered when she came to his gravestone.  
  
"I'm not going to be here for a long. A month, then maybe a whole year. I'm leaving…maybe for good. I have no idea, but I think it's time for me to start a new chapter in my life. And that means I'll be going. I love you, Yuki," Sakura kissed her fingertips and gently laid them on Yuki's gravestone.  
  
As Sakura headed out of the cemetery, she could've sworn the wind blew Yuki's voice, "I love you, Sakura…"  
  
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Sakura walked into the apartment and saw Yukito cooking up a meal for the girls.  
  
It was strange having another person eating with them, or someone else taking the shower.  
  
They weren't used to it, after all, Yuki had never done those things.  
  
"Hamburgers," Meiling said to Sakura.  
  
"Hello to you too," Sakura retorted.  
  
"Smells great," she added.  
  
"Thanks, Sakura. So, Tomoyo, when's the ceremony?" Yukito asked.  
  
"We've decided on a month-long engagement. A summer wedding. As soon as June arrives, I'm going to be Eriol's wife," Tomoyo said.  
  
"Jeez, a simple 'June' couldn't do?" Meiling asked sarcastically.  
  
Tomoyo stuck her tongue out, "You're just jealous."  
  
"Break it up, girls," Sakura said, "I have some news."  
  
"What is it? Tell you've finally reconciled with Syaoran. What happened between you two, anyways? He winces at the sound of your name, and same thing with you," Meiling said.  
  
Sakura winced, "I'm not talking about it. For now. Anyways, I'm going to be moving out."  
  
"What? And me all alone?" Meiling pouted.  
  
"Unfortunately…yes. I got a new job. Still at Vogue, though," Sakura said.  
  
"Where?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Paris."  
  
"Whoa. Wait a minute, you're going to be moving there?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Yeah…" Sakura said.  
  
"Why?" Meiling demanded, "Aren't you happy here?"  
  
"Yeah…but I'm just going for a little change of pace. I'll try it out for a month, and I'll come back for Tomoyo's wedding. By then, I'll make a decision about whether or not I'll stay for a year or two."  
  
"But we still have so many wedding plans…and the bridal shower…and everything…" Tomoyo's lower lip trembled.  
  
Sakura reassured, "It'll just be a month. And I'm only a phone call away. Besides, I can always take the corporate jet. Sukutchi gave me permission to use it whenever I want."  
  
"Wow. That's a big change…you going to Paris," Yukito said.  
  
Sakura smiled, "I need a change. And please, don't tell Syaoran."  
  
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A week later…  
  
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Syaoran was at the gym, working out.  
  
He grunted as he swung himself up on a bar, and he could feel his muscles flexing as Syaoran quickly did several pull-ups for a warm up.  
  
Meiling swung into the gym, "Thank god, there you are!"  
  
Syaoran inwardly groaned, Meiling had been a maniac for the past week, following Syaoran everywhere.  
  
Her excuse was that Tomoyo's wedding was coming up soon, but there was something else that he couldn't figure out.  
  
"What do you want?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I need you to pay for the honeymoon," Meiling quickly said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You guys are the cash hoarders. Did you expect us three girls to get rich working at minimum wage jobs?" Meiling put her hands on her hips and glared at Syaoran.  
  
"Fine. I thought Eriol was paying for it, though," Syaoran said.  
  
"He's paying for the wedding. You're going to take care of the honeymoon, okay? I'll give you details next week," Meiling said.  
  
Her cell phone, which Hanako had gotten her, rang, chiming a song.  
  
"Hello? Oh, hey, Tomoyo."  
  
Meiling looked at Syaoran for a second before lowering her voice, "Yeah. …Did she leave yet?… Uh uh. What flight?… Five o clock, huh... I already said bye to her and made her swear to come back for the wedding shower…. Yeah, I miss her already…Hey, I gotta go. I'm at the gym. Syaoran's agreed to pay for the honeymoon. Bye, see you tonight."   
  
Meiling closed her cell phone and looked up at Syaoran, who was oddly staring at her.  
  
"I'll leave you alone for now. See ya," Meiling started to walk away when Syaoran asked, "Who's leaving?"  
  
Meiling put on an innocent face, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"It's Sakura, isn't it?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"If you know so well, why are you asking?" Meiling retorted.  
  
Syaoran nodded, "Whatever."  
  
"All right. Wait…I have to ask you something. Why were you guys so weird after that sleep over?"  
  
Syaoran paused, "…long story…"  
  
"Oh. I hope you didn't, you know…reject her after she might've told you something .Because we both know she's a great girl. Flight leaves at five," Meiling winked at Syaoran before leaving.  
  
Syaoran silently cursed Meiling for always getting to him.  
  
He glanced at his watch.  
  
Four thirty.  
  
The airport was twenty five minutes away…maybe…just maybe, he might catch her.  
  
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"Hurry it up, damn it!" Syaoran cursed the driver.  
  
"Shut up, can't you see those cars?" the driver asked.  
  
"Damn rush hour…why the hell do they call it rush hour when no one's rushing anywhere?"  
  
The driver shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."  
  
Syaoran looked at the clock.  
  
Four fifty, and time was ticking.  
  
"Here's fifty bucks. That enough?" Syaoran shoved a bill into the driver's face and burst out of the car, sprinting.  
  
He ran the mile to the airport's doors in five minutes, his record time.  
  
Syaoran looked around the airport, glancing to and fro at who looked like Sakura.  
  
"Flight at five…" Syaoran muttered as he looked at the television which displayed flight times.  
  
"Gate one fifty," Syaoran said to himself.  
  
He started sprinting in the direction of the gate, and stopped.  
  
His eyes traveled around the heads of all the people, and it stopped at one.  
  
Sakura was sitting on a plastic chair, reading a French-Japanese phrase book.  
  
Syaoran slowly walked towards Sakura.  
  
He sat down next to her, panting heavily, sweat dripping off his workout suit.  
  
Sakura glanced at Syaoran's body for a second before returning to her book.  
  
"Flight 116 to Paris, boarding now," a woman's voice over the intercom spoke.  
  
Sakura looked at her watch before putting her book away, and stood up.  
  
At the same time, Syaoran did too.  
  
Sakura was in shock when she saw his face.  
  
"Syaoran…I didn't expect to see you here," Sakura spoke carefully.  
  
"Neither did I. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Sakura replied rather stiffly, "I didn't think we were on speaking terms."  
  
Syaoran bit his lip, a little too roughly, since it started bleeding.  
  
"Shoot," Syaoran tasted the blood and grimaced.  
  
"I have to go now. My flight's leaving," Sakura said.  
  
"Wait, can't we talk?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"About what? I thought there was nothing to talk about," Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran sighed, he hated feeling like this…all caught up in the middle and feeling helpless.  
  
"Sakura. I know I was a little harsh on you…when I told you that I couldn't get into a relationship with you. But it wasn't because of you…it was me. That sounds so stupid, but listen. Ever since I was small, I depended on my self. I had to leave my family because before love comes honor. And when you told me that you loved me…I realized that I did, too. And that scared me, Sakura. Because I didn't want to lose you. So instead of losing you, I pushed you away," Syaoran explained.  
  
Sakura's eyes softened, "You should've have. It hurt me."  
  
Syaoran pleaded, "I know it did. But give me a second chance. When I heard Meiling talked to Tomoyo about you leaving…I realized that I was going to lose you. That's why I came here."  
  
Sakura looked down.  
  
Over the intercom, "Last call to flight 116, Paris. Last boarding call."  
  
Sakura looked back up, "I'm sorry, but I really have to go."  
  
She turned to leave but Syaoran grabbed her arm, "Don't go."  
  
Sakura looked at Syaoran mournfully, "Why?"  
  
"Because…Sakura…I love you."  
  
Sakura looked surprised at his sudden declaration.  
  
After looking at the way to the plane, she softly asked, "If I stay…will you promise never to push me away again?"  
  
Syaoran smiled, "I promise."  
  
Syaoran bent his head down, and finally, he kissed Sakura.  
  
It was his first time…  
  
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Epilogue: Six Months Later  
  
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Sakura sighed happily as she sat down on her couch.  
  
In her hand was the phone, and she had just hung up from her husband, who was calling to say that he'd be late from work.  
  
Sakura goofily grinned at the picture of her wedding picture.  
  
Needless to say, it was Syaoran who was standing next to her.  
  
Sakura gazed around their five bedroom apartment, lavishly decorated by Yuki Inc.  
  
Needless to say, it was run by Tomoyo Hiiragizawa.  
  
Sakura was living in a building, which was huge. It consisted of six major floors. Each person living in it had paid for a portion of the building, which was all of theirs to keep. The building had mainly been bought by Syaoran, Touya and Eriol, but the other people who were living had contributed a small bit, also.  
  
On the first floor lived roommates Naoko and Rika, who had earned enough money from their business to open another one in Tokyo. They had moved in after Sakura had invited them to the wedding, and after hearing that their landlord was kicking them out, plus all of Sakura's friends loving them, they had all insisted the two move to Tokyo. Their small business was booming, and ABC Fashion was already rated as the hippest new clothing store.  
  
The second floor were more roommates Touya and Yukito. Each day made up for the years they spent apart, and Yukito was bringing out the best in Touya. But everyone knew that in the next couple of years, the two single men might be more than just roommates. Touya had found a new job as a writer for the Japan division of Newsweek. Of course, he had gotten that job with the help of Toby, who dropped by every once in a while. He was attracted to Rika, and just might start visiting more often. Yukito had his job transferred to the Tokyo Medical Hospital, and was earning a six figure income that allowed he and Touya to live life fully.   
  
Third floor lived Chiharu and Takashi Yamazaki…who had also moved in after Sakura's wedding. Takashi had transferred his job to Tokyo, and Chiharu had gotten a new one as the new ABC Fashion's accountant. She'd probably have to quit after a couple of months, since she was pregnant…finally. Takashi's job would support them and his coming baby.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran had bought the Chiharu and Takashi's red brick house and moved all of the Kinomoto's belongings into it. But it had turned into more than just a storage house, for each of the friends had keys to go there whenever they wanted to use it, as a getaway from the busy city life.  
  
In the fourth floor were Hanako and Meiling Fumiyo, also newlyweds. The couple had gotten serious after Yuki's death. He had finally proposed, and Hanako was married into the bizarre life of Meiling. No plans for children yet, since the two of them were serious about their jobs. Meiling was going to night classes at a college to earn another degree to become a nurse, working alongside her husband.  
  
Tomoyo and Eriol lived in the fifth floor. Tomoyo had opened up Yuki Inc, which was successfully selling clothing and interior designs. Named after their guardian, the business was booming, but Tomoyo would have to quit, due to her overprotective husband, as she was five months pregnant. They were safely living far, far away from Sonomi Daidouji, whom Eriol had put up a restraining order against. They were also in the middle of a case, which Tomoyo was suing Sonomi for kidnapping and abuse. The case was surely going to be in favor of Tomoyo, after all, her defendant was Eriol. It helped to have a job as the newest, youngest, prominent attorney in Tokyo.  
  
And at the top, Sakura and Syaoran were starting their new life. They had gotten closer, no walls between them…and both were learning new things about each other every day. Syaoran was earning a large income as a worker for the Japanese government, while Sakura was still modeling. She remembered going back to Mr. Sukutchi and telling him she was staying…  
  
"History repeats itself," Mr. Sukutchi had told her, smiling, "Like mother like daughter. I lied to you, sweetie. I didn't hold your mother back…she stayed by herself. She faced everything, from that crazy cousin of hers to her family…and it was all because Fujitaka had convinced her to stay. Love is a strong thing, sweetie…"  
  
Love was a strong thing. Straight after Tomoyo's wedding was Sakura's, then Meiling's, and the purchase of the building with six other people moving in. Love was the cause of all that.  
  
Sure, life got a little hectic. It sucked to have an older brother living four floors down you, especially with an elevator. And living with your best friends in the same building was complicated, especially trying to figure out who had used up all the hot water in the whole building.  
  
But…Sakura sighed in happiness again. Every day was an adventure. She didn't know when something new would happen  
  
She smiled a secret as she patted her stomach. There would be some news when her husband got home.  
  
But for now…life was good.  
  
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You light me up and then I fall for you You lay me down and then I call for you Stumbling on reasons that are far and few I'd let it all come down and then some for you  
  
Pretty baby don't you leave me I have been saving smiles for you Pretty baby why can't you see You're the one that I belong to I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm For you're the sun that breaks the storm I'll be alright and I'll sleep sound As long as you keep comin' around, oh pretty baby  
  
And I know things can't last forever But there are lessons that you'll never learn Oh, just the scent of you, it makes me hurt So how's it you that makes me better  
  
Pretty baby don't you leave me I have been saving smiles for you Pretty baby why can't you see You're the one that I belong to I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm For you're the sun that breaks the storm I'll be alright and I'll sleep sound As long as you keep comin' around, oh pretty baby  
  
Why can't you hold me and never let go When you touch me, it is me that you own Pretty baby, oh the place that you hold in my heart   
  
Would you break it apart again, oh pretty baby  
  
Pretty baby don't you leave me I have been saving smiles for you Pretty baby why can't you see You're the one that I belong to I'll be the embrace that keeps you warm For you're the sun that breaks the storm I'll be alright and I'll sleep sound As long as you keep comin' around, oh pretty baby  
  
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IMPORTANT LAST AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Aw, I hope you guys are happy with the ending. I figured it would be best to stick everyone together. Sorry if the airport scene was lame, I didn't really know what to write.   
  
And if you're confused about the whole Yuki-Yukito thing…it's not supernatural or anything, but they're both the same in 'spirit', as in Sakura's guardian. You know how Yuki's kinda like Yue, who is Sakura's guardian, and he's always there for her, and when he died, Yukito came back…I thought it'd be interesting to put in there.  
  
Well now…it's time to say goodbye. Thanks to EVERYONE who ever reviewed, and if you never have, this is your last chance! Please review to let me know how you guys liked the ending!!! And after doing that, check out my new and latest story, "Everlasting Love, Don't Leave Me."  
  
Thanks!   
  
:) SwEeT AnGeL 1004 


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